Feel Again
by essie the fangirl
Summary: That night in Godric's Hollow, Danilynn Black planted a memory in Harry Potter's head, designed to emerge slowly over time. She erased it from her own mind, in order to protect herself, her husband, and Harry. There's a secret locked in Harry's head, and it's coming out. What's the secret? No one knows, not even Harry, but he can't shake the feeling that it will change everything.
1. Chameleon Souls

**Disclaimer: JKR is queen etc. etc. like seriously you guys know the drill, don't steal my shit**

**Hey guys so you may or may not have read _Born to Die_ but i took it down because i kind of realized it was going no where but i liked the name for the OC so please dont be confused. THEY ARE NOT THE SAME PERSON. I REPEAT: THEY ARE NOT THE SAME PERSON. alrighty now that we've got that out of the way, please enjoy my rendition of little Potter characters and what Harry's childhood should have been!**

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><p><em>I was always an unusual girl.<em>  
><em>My mother told me I had a chameleon soul, no moral compass pointing due north, no fixed personality; just an inner indecisiveness that was as wide and as wavering as the ocean...<em>  
><em>And if I said I didn't plan for it to turn out this way I'd be lying...<em>  
><em>I was a woman who belonged to no one, who belonged to everyone.<em>  
><em>Who had nothing, who wanted everything, with a fire for every experience and an obsession for freedom that terrified me to the point that I couldn't even talk about it, and pushed me to a nomadic point of madness that both dazzled and dizzied me.<em>

_~Lana Del Ray, Ride (the music video)_

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><p>It was always the same dream.<p>

The flash of green light, the laughter, a woman's whisper, and a flash of silver hair whipping away from him. Harry Potter had never been sure if he had just invented last part as he got older because he could have sworn that in his incredibly young years, such as the age of 3 or 4, that there had been no woman's hair or whisper or even the laughter, just the green light. If he was being honest, the woman's whisper scared him more than the light or the laughter did. Even at the small age of eight that he was now, he understood that she was trying to say something incredibly important to him. She was trying to convey a detail of his life to him before she ran away from his crib, a single sentence, a few words even, and he knew in the core of his being that they would change everything he knew.

If only he could hear more than the indistinct sound of her voice and see more than the back of her head for a few seconds. If only he could understand her.

Harry could, however, understand his Aunt Petunia quite well as she was screaming at him to get up through the cupboard stairs.

"Get up! There's bacon on the oven and you'll be finishing cooking it while I go run Dudley's bath. There'll be Hell to pay if you burn it." She threatened at the end of her command and Harry shuttered, thinking about the last time he had let food on 4 Privet Drive burn. There had been a lashing with Uncle Vernon's belt and a lecture he was pretty sure he'd never un-hear.

"I'm getting up. Just let me find the light you hag." He whispered the last part and there was a sharp,

"What was that?" from the other side of the door

"Nothing, nothing." Harry quickly replied. "I'm getting up." Harry pushed open the cupboard door to reveal that his aunt was (thankfully) walking away from where he was emerging. Harry quickly shuffled into the kitchen, which was blissfully empty, to make sure the bacon didn't, heavens forbid, _burn_. He found the footstool he used to reach the oven (he was greatly looking forward to the day he didn't have to use the thing) and checked the bacon's crispiness. He poked it with the spatula next to the oven and sighed. He missed his parents. He didn't even remember them, but he missed them, for a terribly simple reason: they had to have been better than the Dursleys. There was no alternative. They _had to_.

As he was mulling this over, there was a flash of light in the kitchen and Harry blindly brandished his spatula in case it was Dudley trying out fireworks inside or something. But it wasn't. When the light cleared, there was a glowing, silver, dog in the kitchen. But as Harry stepped on his footstool and approached the dog, he realized that it was a bit too big to be a dog.

"Are…are you a wolf?" The large creature nodded its great head slowly and then brushed up against the young boy's arm. When he touched the animal, he felt warmth and love emanating from it, but there was a tinge of grief in the wolf too. Grief and sadness. The door banged open and Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon walked in and spotted the wolf. Petunia screamed, Vernon shouted at it, and Dudley, who entered after his parents, passed out. The wolf stood and spoke to Harry's aunt.

"Remember who he is, Petunia. And remember who _I_ am." Harry's jaw dropped. It was _her_ voice. As the wolf finished speaking, it vanished into a swirl of silver mist that quickly dissipated in the air conditioning of the house.

"Harry Potter! What were you thinking, letting that—that _thing_ into the house?!"

"I didn't let it in! It just appeared—it was like magic!" Uncle Vernon grabbed Harry by the collar of his shirt,

"_There is no such thing as magic!_" Petunia screamed,

"Vernon. Vernon! Put him down! Didn't you hear her? They're watching us and the last thing any of us need is for _her_ to think that we're mistreating him."

"Oh, come on, what is that woman going to do? She hasn't shown her face since before he was born, she can come and get me for all I care! Her _and_ her murdering husband! Oh wait, that's right, _he's in jail._" Aunt Petunia's face paled and there was a knock at the door. Uncle Vernon quickly dropped Harry and said, "Petunia, go upstairs and get my gun."

"Vernon—"

"Petunia. Gun. Now." Aunt Petunia vanished up the stairs as the knocking got more and more insistent at the front door. Dudley began to come back around and Vernon said to him,

"Dudders, you got to stay back here in the Kitchen, got it?" Dudley nodded his beefy head and Vernon addressed Harry, "_You_ are going to your cupboard." Harry was unceremoniously tossed into the cupboard and the door was locked behind him. Harry anxiously pressed his ear to the door, trying to hear what was going on, on the other side of that flimsy wooden cover.

He heard someone open the door and a metallic click. Uncle Vernon's gun, Harry figured.

"Hello Petunia, Vernon. How are you this marvelous…oh is it afternoon already? Hm, all this travelling is really getting the better of me. None of us are as young as we used to be, especially you, eh Tuney?" Harry gasped. It was _her_. There was a tinkling laugh from her and Aunt Petunia remained dead silent.

"Look, I don't know who you think you are lady—"

"No, the real question is who do _you_ think _you _are, Vernon? You are mistreating the Boy-Who-Lived, and because you asked so nicely, here I am, to 'come and get you'." Harry could hear the quotes in her voice and the venom hidden behind the façade of cheer, "Oh and don't bother with the gun. In case you haven't noticed I'm remarkably difficult to kill, rather like your nephew, wouldn't you say? But you see, we're all very much the same. You feel pain in the same ways we do. You scream like us, your bones break like ours, you bleed like us, and you can_ die_ like us, too." The cheer had vanished and her voice was cold, "But you're different from Harry and I at the same time. You're a lot easier to kill. You're _weaker_. If that little boy I know you have locked in that cupboard could kill you accidentally, imagine what I could do."

"Why are you really here, Masters?"

"It's Black, Petunia, in case you've forgotten, which I seriously doubt considering your husband's outburst just minutes ago. And I want to see Harry. I locked something in his head the night his parents were killed and I'd very much like it back." Harry smiled in the dark. It _was _her. The lady with the silver hair. He began to bang on the door.

"Let me out!" Moments after he shouted the door unlocked to reveal a young woman, no more than 26 or 27, with long silver hair and blue eyes.

"Hello, Harry. My name is Danilynn Black. I'm your Godmother." Harry observed her shyly, not quite sure of how she was going to treat him, you could never tell. But he trusted her because of her dreams, so he answered her.

"Hello, Miss. Danilynn." She laughed and pulled him out of the cupboard and into a big hug, taking him by surprise,

"Oh gosh, call me Dany, that's what you called me as a little one. Well it was more like 'Annie' but you get the idea."

"I knew you as a baby?" She nodded at him,

"Yep, you sure did. I was your mom's best friend. That's why I'm your Godmother. Harry dear, have you been having dreams? Bad dreams with green lights in them?" He nodded at her enthusiastically, eager to tell her what he knew.

"Yeah. Every night I see a green light. And your hair. I hear you whispering to me in my crib."

"What do I say?" Harry feels his face fall.

"I—I don't know. I can't hear you. I can hear just a bunch of sounds, but no words. What you're saying to me is short though. A sentence or two at the most. But I can never understand you. I'm sorry." She smiled at him and said,

"I'm not surprised. It will come with time. Now, how about we get you out of this house for a little while?" Harry nodded to her excitedly and rushed past her, out of the cupboard. His aunt and uncle were standing in front of the door, which was still hanging ajar from his Godmother's entrance. Both of their mouths were hanging open and were staring at Dany, flabbergasted.

Dany stood to her full height and took Harry's hand, something that no one had ever done before.

"Dany?" She looked down at him gently,

"Yes, Harry?"

"There's a man laughing, too. In my dream there's always a man laughing." A dark shadow crossed over her face and said,

"Is there really? We'll talk about that at lunch, okay?" As they were walking out of the door away from 4 Privet Drive, Danilynn Black, wife of Sirius Black and Godmother of Harry Potter called out to her best friend's sister, "Oh and Petunia? I'd check on that bacon if I were you. You wouldn't want it to burn."


	2. A Man of Constant Sorrow

**Disclaimer: yeah, I got it. it's insulting enough as it is.**

**so i hope everyone likes this one! I'm going to kind of alternate between Harry, Dany, and Sirius for a while, so here is Sirius' chapter!**

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><p><em>I am a man of constant sorrow <em>  
><em>I've seen trouble all my day. <em>

_For six long years I've been in trouble _  
><em>No pleasures here on earth I found <em>  
><em>For in this world I'm bound to ramble <em>  
><em>I have no friends to help me now. <em>

_It's fare thee well my old lover _  
><em>I never expect to see you again <em>  
><em>For I'm bound to ride that northern railroad <em>  
><em>Perhaps I'll die upon this train. <strong><br>**_

_~I am a Man of Constant Sorrow, The Soggy Bottom Boys_

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><p>Sirius Black was miserable. He was hiding in the corner of his cell in Azkaban, trying to remember the light. As the years inevitably suffered on, this became more and more difficult. Where he could remember entire nights before, and many of them, he could now only remember two or three complete nights and many flashes. James' smirk. Dany's hair. Lily's eyes. Remus' laugh. There were exactly three happy nights he could remember fully. Lily and James' wedding, Harry's birth, and his own wedding.<p>

The rest of the nights were tragic. The night they lost Alice and Frank to insanity. The night Marlene was killed. The he found Lily and James' bodies. The night Dany was ripped away from him as he was dragged to Azkaban. He could still hear her screams. Those were the easy memories to recall. His wedding: the flowers in Dany's hair, the grin on James' face before she walked down the isle, Lily's whisper of "treat her right or I'll kill you. Even if I'm dead, I'll come back form the grave to kill you. And then I'll kill you in the afterlife. Again." His wedding was becoming incredibly difficult to remember with the detail that he could remember the single tear halted mid-track on James' cold cheek. He could remember Dany's sobs for Lily better than he could remember her halting gasping vows at their wedding, or her tears at their Godson's birth.

"_Hey, now let's be optimistic and give Jamsie and his lovely bride over there, six months of marriage. Ow…ow…fine, eight months, but I'm not going any higher, babe."_

"_Sirius, for the love of God, it's your brother's wedding day."_

"_I know Dany, that's why I gotta be so hard on him: he's my brother. But anyways man, I think that Lily is literally the best thing to ever happen to you since, like, us."_

"_Damn straight we are. This is why I married him, Lils. He knows how great I am."_

"_Shut up and wait for your speech, Danilynn."_

"_Oh, you hear that, love? The bride just used your full name. This is getting serious up in here. But anyways, treat that lovely girl over there right because I'm pretty sure that Dany will kill you if you don't and because I'm her husband, I'm going to be required to help or at least be neutral in that. So, good luck man getting your shit together. Oh, and Lils? Be aware that he may or may not talk in his sleep. But on the bright side, seven years of sharing a room has led to the discovery that it's pretty funny. And even funnier to record."_

"_Padfoot! Don't tell her that!"_

"_Sorry, man. She needs to know, best-man-to-bride."_

That's all he could remember of his speech, but then again, that might have been all there was. He couldn't really remember. As pathetic as it seemed, he found it helpful to say who he was out loud. Sure, it sounded like he was going mad, but then again, most people in this place were already a tad, if not completely, insane.

"My name is Sirius Orion Black. I am married to Danilynn Charlotte Masters, who took my surname of Black. We were married at the age of 17 on July 23, 1977. My best man was James Charlus Potter. Dany's Maid-of-Honor was Lily Evans. James and Lily were married September 12, 1977 and we were their best man and Matron-of-Honor. I am the Godfather of Harry James Potter. I am innocent. I am an innocent man. I love my wife. I love my godson. I am innocent. I—I was an Auror. So were Dany, Lily, and James. I fought for the light." It was like a mantra. Sirius Black. Dany. July 23. James. Lily. Harry. Innocent. Innocent. Innocent.

Just as he was repeating the mantra for the third time, the Dementors disappeared and a man's voice filled the hallway outside his cell.

"Come on, Shacklebolt, let's get this damn inspection over with. I want to get back to my office before four." Sirius looked up. The Minister. "Speaking of which, where's Masters? Isn't she supposed to be on shift for this month?" This got his attention. There was only one living Masters left: Dany.

"She took a personal day. Something about her Godson." Harry. Dany was with Harry.

"You know I still don't understand why the Wizengamot has been so lenient with her. That entire family has been a menace since they took office two thousand years ago."

"Minister…Danilynn Masters may be an Auror but she also has more money than God. Not to mention that her father was Minister during the early 70s. Rumor has it that she married Sirius Black, too. If that's true she's the only heir to the Masters' family fortune and the last free person bearing the last name Black, which means she also has more power than God, too." Kingsley Shacklebolt said in his slow voice. Sirius remembered him dimly, but he had been only in training during the first war.

"Ah, yes, money speaks louder than words with some of those old coots. Most of them, actually. Not to mention the power that comes along with one of those surnames, let alone both. Speaking of Blacks…here we are."


	3. Hope

**Disclaimer: don't steal my shit because i'm not stealing from Queen JKR**

**Heyy! So you guys might even get another chapter from me today or tomorrow!**

** So someone asked about if Dany has this super powerful family why can't she just snap her fingers and free Sirius, and that's explained in this chapter (PS Fudge is kind of a stubborn asshole if you didn't catch that in OoTP).**

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><p><em>But I will hold on hope<em>  
><em>And I won't let you choke<em>  
><em>On the noose around your neck<em>

_And I'll find strength in pain_  
><em>And I will change my ways<em>  
><em>I'll know my name as it's called again<em>

_~The Cave, Mumford and Sons_

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><p>Dany was sitting across from Harry in a breakfast restaurant that he had chosen from the backseat of her car. He was now happily munching on pancakes and bacon, as Dany drank her coffee. She hadn't started off particularly liking the drink but by the time she was 20 it had become essentially her lifeblood. She blamed Sirius, honestly.<p>

"Miss. Danilynn?"

"Harry, you can just call me Dany. Really, I'd really rather you did."

"Sorry, Dany. I—I was just wondering if you could tell me about the laughter. You know, in my dreams." Dany tried not to let her gentle smile falter but she couldn't stop her memories from rising up in her eyes. Sirius. James. Lily. Gone. They're all gone. She thought about Harry, about how old he was. Eight was young to know the horrible truth of your parents death, but too old to be lied to.

"What have your aunt and uncle told you about how your parents died?"

"Just that they died in a car crash. I'm not really allowed to ask questions." Dany felt that familiar burn in the back of her throat and the itch in her hands to wrap them around Petunia's long, skinny, throat. Dany took a long breath and looked sadly at her Godson,

"Harry, this—this is really hard for me to tell you, do you understand that? But you need to know. Your parents, Lily and James, they didn't die in a car crash." Harry's eye lit up,

"They're alive?" She hated to crush this hope. But she had to. She had to. For Sirius and for Harry.

"No, no dear, they're dead, but they weren't killed in an accident. A man named Tom Riddle murdered them. But when he killed them, he went by the name of Lord Voldemort. That scar you have on your forehead? It's not a normal scar, that's where he tried to kill you too." Her Godson's eyes grew huge.

"_He tried to kill me too? _Why did he try to kill me and my parents?" Dany cast a wary eye around and noticed a man in a suspicious outfit that looked a little too much like ministry robes for her liking,

"Harry, darling, I really think we should discuss this somewhere else, okay?" Harry reluctantly nodded and Dany waved the waitress over for the check, "Oh, and his coffee's on me." She pointed to the suspected Ministry worker, "Give him my regards, too." Dany smiled sweetly and handed the woman the correct sum of money plus a little extra to her and guided her Godson out of the diner with a cheery wave to the on looking man, who looked horrified that he had been ousted by a young woman. Thy walked down the street and entered a small park with children playing and teenagers on dates and old couples reading and chatting. They occupied a bench a little separated from other people and Harry turned to his Godmother again,

"Dany, why was this Voldemort guy after my mom and dad?" Dany mulled over how to breach the topic of magic,

"Do you remember the wolf in the kitchen?" Harry nodded, smiling at the thought, "Well, there are more things like that, because magic, well, it's is real. There are witches and wizards in the world, although they choose to remain hidden."

"You're a witch?"

"I am. And so was your mother. Your father was a wizard, which makes you one too. You're magic, a wizard. "

"I—I am?"

"You are indeed. I promise to tell you much more about it but I must first answer the question about your parents before it gets lost in all the magic questions. The first thing you have to understand is that not all magic is like the wolf. There is bad magic, dark magic, and back when your parents and I were a little older than you; a man came into power, named Lord Voldemort. He was a wicked man and believed that some wizards and witches were better than others because they comes from all Wizarding families—"

"That's awful!"

"Your mom was a witch born to non-magic folks, who are called Muggles, making her a Muggleborn. And when your parents left school they decided to fight Lord Voldemort, along with my husband and myself. We became Aurors, which are kind of like policemen, pretty much bad-wizard catchers. A year or two further into the war against Voldemort, your parents were part of a major revolution against him and because of their resistance, he killed them, and I suspect that he liked killing by then and tried to kill you, but for some reason the curse backfired, killing him. But that is the laughter. That is Voldemort trying to kill you."

"I hate him! I hate him, I hate him!"

"So do I, Buddy. So do I." And she did. Who the Hell laughs as they kill a freshly orphaned baby?

"Dany, did you say you had a husband?" Dany smiled a little at the thought of Sirius.

"I do. But he was put in jail for something he didn't do. He was put in jail for giving up your parents to Voldemort. That's what I'm whispering to you in your dreams, you know, who really gave them up. I planted it in your mind, to reveal itself when the time was right, and then erased it from my memories. You've got a secret up in there, Bud." She ruffled his hair lightly and murmured, "He's your Godfather you know, my husband. Once we get that name out of your head, we'll all get to be a family, the way your mom and dad wanted it in their wills."

"I never have to go back to the Dursley's?" Dany winked at the hopeful boy,

"Not if I have anything to do with it. And trust me, I have quite a bit to do with most things in the Wizarding world."

"Dany? What's my Godfather's name?" Dany smiled and said softly,

"Sirius. Sirius Black. When you were a baby you called him 'Padfoot'. It was a nickname that your dad gave him when they were only a few years older than you are now."

"When am I gonna be able to meet him?" Dany sighed and wrapped an arm around her sweet Godson,

"I don't know. I've tried to get him out, and the Wizengamot, that's the Wizard equivalent of Parliament, is willing to hear me and maybe even let him go, but the Minister of Magic won't hear of it. Fudge always did have a cinderblock for a brain."

"You need my memories, then?"

"Eventually, but I think for right now, we should focus on getting you out of the Dursley's house. Unless you'd like to go back…" Dany winked and Harry stuck his tongue out,

"No thank you!"

"Harry, you have to understand that for me to take you away from them people are going to ask you how you were treated there. You need to be 100% completely honest with them, got it?" He nodded and Dany whispered,

"You ready to go see some magic?" They both stood and Harry took her hand as she led him to a dingy looking building labeled 'The Leaky Cauldron'.


	4. Dirty Paws

**Disclaimer: ...**

**Hey guys! So this is the chapter that more of our canon characters finally make an appearance (werewolves anyone?) and we get to see (my version) what exactly happened in Godric's Hollow, so yeah, I hope you guys like reading it as much as I liked writing it!**

**Read, Review, and Enjoy,**

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><p><em>And for a while things were cold;<em>  
><em>They were scared down in their homes.<em>  
><em>The forest that once was green<em>  
><em>Was colored black by those killing machines.<em>  
><em>But she and her furry friends<em>  
><em>Took down the queen bee and her men<em>  
><em>And that's how the story goes,<em>  
><em>The story of the beast with those four dirty paws<em>.

_~Dirty Paws, Of Monsters and Men_

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><p>The first thing Harry noticed about the Leaky Cauldron was that it was very accurately named, as there did seem to be leaks everywhere. He held tightly onto his Godmother's hand as she walked towards the bar. The bartender smiled at her,<p>

"Ah, Miss. Danilynn! Usual, I presume?" She laughed a little and shook her head,

"No, no drinking today, Tom, sobriety is important at the moment. I'm looking for Remus. You wouldn't happen to know where the wolf is, would you?" The man, Tom, laughed,

"As a matter of fact, he's renting a room upstairs, and I do believe that he's here right now. 7B."

"Thanks, Tom. Come on, sweetie." Harry was gently pulled along by Dany until he heard someone say,

"Good God. It's Harry Potter." Tom dropped the glass he was drying and the entire room went silent.

"Danilynn Charlotte. Why do you have Harry Potter with you?"

"He's my Godson, Tom. Lily and James left it up to me to protect and raise him, and that's my intention. If you have a problem with that, we'll _talk_ later." Tom nodded and Harry couldn't help but notice that the last part of his Godmother's words were hanging in the room almost as a veiled threat, implying that everything _but_ talking would be going on. Dany guided him from the room and Harry could feel everyone watching him as they left. They climbed the stars until they reached a black door with paint peeling off it that looked very much like every other door in the Leaky Cauldron. Dany knocked loudly, and highly impatiently.

"Remus. Remus John Lupin. You open this door or I swear to whatever God there may be, I'll knock it over." Moments later a man in tattered clothing and a serious case of bed head opened the door, rubbing his eyes,

"Bloody Hell, woman. No wonder you and Sirius got on so well, neither of you has an ounce of patience." The man, presumably named Remus John Lupin, muttered as he finally looked at the woman in his doorway, and the boy holding her hand.

"Oh…oh, Dany. It's—it's him, isn't it?" She nodded.

"I picked him up from Petunia this morning. Harry, say hello to Remus. He is one of my best friends and was a close friend of your mom and dad, as well." Harry looked up at the man and smiled,

"Hello." Remus crouched down and said,

"Hey Harry. It's been a long time. Gosh, you're eight now, am I right?" Harry nodded rather shyly, "You look just like your dad, you know? Just like James." Harry swelled with pride at being compared to his father, "Why don't you both come in and we'll all talk?" Harry looked pleadingly at Dany, who laughed a little and said,

"Of course, Remus, we didn't come find you for nothing after all." Harry trailed Dany as they walked in and she soon sat on the floor. Harry followed suit, clinging to his Godmother, and Remus rummaged through his belongings.

"Harry, have you ever seen your parents?"

"N—No, sir."

"Oh, please call me Remus, or Moony, that's what your dad called me after all, and come here and you can see them. I have lots and lots of pictures of them both." Harry abandoned Dany's hand and rushed over to where Moony had a thick, leather bound book in his hands. Harry took the book carefully and opened it to a picture of four boys laughing. To his surprise the pictures were moving.

"Magic pictures." Dany said from her position on the other side of the room.

Remus pointed to one of the boys and said, "That's your dad, James. That's me. And that's our friend Peter." Remus pointed to a boy with glasses and a shock of black hair, a boy that was clearly a younger version of the man in front of him, and a pudgy boy who was rather shorter than the others.

"Who's that?" Harry pointed to the fourth boy, who also had black hair. He was laughing and shoved Harry's dad out of the frame jokingly. James came back and promptly pushed the other boy over.

"That's the man who kill—"

"Remus." Dany warned from across the room.

"Oh come _on_, Danilynn, he killed them!" Dany stood up and Harry slowly backed into a corner.

"He did _not_. You should be ashamed of yourself for being so willing to think so poorly of someone who would have _died_ for you."

"The Ministry—" Remus started by Dany didn't let him finish. Something had changed in her.

"_The Ministry_ didn't even give him a trial."

"The Minister himself arrested him!"

"I'm shocked at you, Remus. Those people hate your kind and you're going to stand here and defend them for _arresting my husband_? Lily and James, not to mention your parents, would be so disappointed."

"He's a Death Eater!" A vase in the corner shattered with no apparent outside influence. Glass tinkled to the ground in the corner.

"No, he's _not_! I came to you for help, Remus. And you wouldn't give it to me."

"We are _not_ going there now. If Sirius wasn't the secret keeper than who was?" Dany fell silent for a moment,

"I don't know anymore. I used to, but I don't anymore. That night, I told Harry and buried it in his memory to protect all of us, but I erased the name from my own memory."

"Convenient, wouldn't you say?" Dany looked like she was going to rip out Remus' throat.

"It's coming back, the memory." Harry finally spoke and the looks on both adults' faces said quite clearly they had forgotten he was there, "I'll remember the name soon."

"Dumbledore can get the name from him. That's why I came here. I need you to get in contact with him." Remus sighed.

"Fine. _Fine._ I'll Floo call him." Moony walked over to the fireplace and took a handful of sandy stuff and threw it into the fireplace, "Albus, a word if you don't mind?" for a moment nothing happened, but then soon a figure emerged from the fireplace. A wizened old man with a beard tucked into his belt and half-moon glasses stepped out of the fireplace and Harry was pretty sure that he was going to wake up from this dream any moment. This _had_ to be a dream. People just didn't appear in fireplaces. Dany bent down and whispered,

"Magic."

"Remus, a pleasure as always. Danilynn Black, it _has_ been a long time, hasn't it?" Dany nodded slowly.

"Seven years, to be exact. I trust you know who this is, Albus." The old man nodded knowingly and said,

"Of course. What is the reason you called me here for?"

"Danilynn claims she placed the name of the secret keeper in Harry's mind the night Lily and James were killed in Godric's Hollow. I want to know if you could extract the name from him. He says that the memory is coming back, but it could be years before a name becomes intelligible."

"I can try. Danilynn is a powerful witch Remus, I may not be able to override her spell."

"It wasn't my best, given the, erm, time crunch of Voldemort coming up the stairs to murder one of my best friends and Godson." Dany muttered from the corner, eyeing Remus with a look of borderline disgust on her pretty face, standing in contrast with her bright silver-blonde hair. Albus approached Harry and said calmly,

"Hello Harry, my name is Professor Dumbledore and I am here to help you get your memory back. Is that okay with you?" Harry nodded and the Professor held out a hand that Harry hesitantly took, "Ready? I'm just going to project your memory onto this room so we can all see it." Harry nodded again and for a moment nothing happened, but then suddenly, the room changed.

They were in a living room. Harry recognized his dad from the picture, and supposed the baby must be him. James was putting puffs of colored smoke into the air for baby Harry to try to catch in his baby fists. Suddenly, a young man and woman appeared from another room, in stark contrast of each other. The man had dark hair off-setting the woman's silvery locks; the woman had gentle blue eyes contrasting with the man's more shadowed eyes. The woman was short, the man tall. But 18-year-old Danilynn and Sirius held hands. A woman with bright red hair followed them into the room. Harry heard Remus mutter "Lily". They were laughing; all four of them, at Baby Harry's antics and Lily bent down to scoop up her son and take him to bed. Dany left with her best friend, leaving James and Sirius in the living room.

However, the memory followed Harry and so both the men vanished from the view of the memory. Dany was sitting in a rocking chair as Lily changed Harry's diaper.

"What was that?" Lily abruptly asked her friend.

"I didn't hear anything, Lils…"

"I have Mom ears, Dany, they're _never _wrong." The blonde didn't seem to believe her friend but consented,

"I'll go shout down to the boys. Sirius! Ja—" Just then Sirius came barging into the room, covering her mouth.

"He's here." Lily wheeled around and placed Harry in his crib.

"What? Padfoot, where's James? _Where is my husband?_" Sirius shook his head slowly,

"He made me come up here. He made me swear that if I had a choice to save him or you, I would pick you, Lils. You have to go. Get Harry and come with us." Lily shook her head,

"No. I'm done running. Sirius, leave. You need to go, _now_. Everyone will think you're the secret keeper. You'll be found guilty if you stay. Azkaban isn't a good place to be. _Go."_ Sirius hugged Lily and kissed his wife and Apparated out of the house, "Dany, put the Secret-Keeper's name in his head. Tell him and let it reappear when it's safe. The world should know. Sirius will be targeted for something he didn't do, and I apologize in advance for the hard years to come that are our fault. I love you, sissy."

Just as she finished speaking, the door opened to reveal Voldemort, a face no one in the room had seen in almost a decade. Dany ran over to the crib as Lily bargained for her son's life.

"Harry, we love you. Your mom and dad, Sirius and I, we all love you. The secret keeper's name is—" a flash of green light filled the room and Lily screamed. Dany fired a jet of light at Voldemort, "—Peter Pettigrew." The last living human in the house sent a killing curse at Voldemort as a desperate hope and vanished, her hair flashing in the light, trusting Lily's sacrifice to protect Harry, leaving only a whisper of the last word ever spoken in that house with good intention, "_obliviate"_. Voldemort laughed and created another flash of green light, but this time there was a spectacular bang that accompanied it, then the memory ended with the sound of baby Harry screaming.


	5. It's All Uphill From Here

**Disclaimer: yeah we all got it. Let's not make me sad and talk about it, too...**

**Hey! So this is a super short, yet super important chapter because this is it! This is the chapter where there's a Dany/Sirius reunion and oh gosh i even wrote the next, like, three chapters and because this is so short so you can all thank me later ;)**

**Read, Review, and Enjoy,**

**Stars.**

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><p><em>It's who we are<em>  
><em>Doesn't matter if we've gone too far<em>  
><em>Doesn't matter if it's all okay<em>  
><em>Doesn't matter if it's night or day<em>

_So won't you save us_  
><em>What we are<em>  
><em>Don't look clear<em>  
><em>Cause it's all uphill from here.<em>

_~Imagine Dragons, Who We Are_

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><p>"Sirius Black." Fudge sniffed as he looked into Sirius' cell, on the last stop of his inspection, the high security cells, the Minister looked tired and like he would rather be having some kind of illicit affair behind his wife's back, which according to his thoughts, he was. Sirius smirked slightly to himself as he leaned against the cell wall near the bars, the bastard never did learn to control his thoughts, despite the Aurors urging to do so.<p>

"Cornelius Fudge."

"That's 'Minister', Black."

"Well if we're talking titles, I'm technically a Lord, so that's 'Lord' to you, Fudge." Sirius was pretty sure he heard Kingsley snicker behind the Minister, despite his supposed status as murderer and traitor.

"Oh, yes, _so _Lordly, aren't you, Black? I must say, _this_ is the pinnacle of luxury." Just as the last word left Fudge's mouth, the door at the end of the hallway banged open incredibly loudly and there were rapid footsteps approaching. Fudge looked up and his face shifted to confusion, and then to irritation.

"Dumbledore? What in Merlin's name are you doing here? Actually the better question is, what are you doing here with _Masters_?"

"Cornelius, I feel like we can all calm down, but things must be discussed, and here is a place as appropriate as any other, I suppose."

"Very well. Masters, Shacklebolt, leave us." Sirius almost said something, he hadn't seen Dany in, well he didn't know how long exactly, but it had been years, at the very least, and she was no more than five feet away. He wanted to see his wife. _Now._

"No."

"Danilynn Charlotte Masters, you _will_ do as you're told."

"I'm not going anywhere, Cornelius. And it's not Masters, it hasn't been for quite a while, actually. You _have _to have heard the rumors by now."

"Leave."

"Make me." Sirius backed up from the bars slowly, catching the vicious tone of her voice. This was going to end badly. He could tell and he _still _couldn't see her face. Dumbledore was no fool either and intervened,

"Now, let's all calm down. I do believe that Danilynn has every right to be here for this discussion, as does the prisoner it involves. We do have reason to believe that Peter Pettigrew was the Secret-Keeper for the Potters, seven years ago."

"And what evidence is there?"

"Young Harry Potter chose to share his latent memories of that night with his Godmother, Remus Lupin, and myself. The memories reveal that both Sirius and Danilynn Black—"

"They _are_ married!" Dumbledore ignored Fudge,

"—Were at the Potter household on the night of the attack and Lily and Danilynn planted the memory in his head to reappear at a time where it would be safe to reveal such information."

"I'm not letting him just walk free." Fudge snarled at Dumbledore, but it wasn't Dumbledore who answered,

"You can and you will. Because you can't honestly think that you were the first people we went to with this information. The power to drop charges and give trials rests with you, but the power to _reassign _charges rests with the Wizengamot, who are quite fond of me, by the way. You will release him and you will do it now as per orders from the Wizengamot, which are right here, before bad things start to happen. A string of unfortunate events follow people who cross me the wrong way, Cornelius. And _believe me_ when I say that you do not want to be on the receiving end of those events."

"She's being very serious, Minister. I've been under her instruction my entire career with the Auror department and you will very sorely regret keeping him in this cell." Kingsley informed the Minister in his slow, reassuring way. After he stopped talking, Dany continued speaking and Sirius could visualize her wildly gesticulating with her hands as she spoke, even thought he was still standing up against the wall, wondering if this was actually happening,

"For starters, you'll lose your position. Your fall from power will be astounding and fast, and before you know it, you'll be exactly where you were 10 years ago, but with a disgraced and dishonest reputation. You don't want that, _do you, Fudge_?"

"Cornelius, it is what is wise, and what is right. Release the innocent man that you have kept locked away for so long. You have no other option." Fudge looked rather outraged but motioned to someone Sirius couldn't see. Kingsley stepped forward and unlocked the door.

"Come on, there's someone here to see you, and she's a lot prettier than any of us." The younger man winked at the man who was once his mentor and allowed him to step out of his cell.

Sirius cautiously stepped through the door, but no one pushed him back in or tried to restrain him. Kingsley and the other guards looked ashamed at keeping a locked man imprisoned for so long. Fudge still looked irritated and Dumbledore was smiling at him slightly. Next to Dumbledore was a short woman with silver-blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She grinned at him and for the first time in a long time, Sirius Black smiled a real smile. He slowly moved towards her, not sure about how she would react to the way he looked, which, from what he had gleaned from reflections in puddles and water cups, was pretty horrible. Before he could allow his thoughts to go any further, she did what he had always considered to be too outlandish to consider ever again: she kissed him.


	6. Long Time Coming

**Disclaimer: yeah...**

**so because I wrote way too much I broke it up into two chapters, so here you guys go!**

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><p><em>It's been a long time coming since I've seen your face<em>  
><em>I've been everywhere and back trying to replace<em>  
><em>Everything that I had 'til my feet went numb<em>  
><em>Praying like a fool that's been on the run<em>

_Heart's still beating but it's not working_  
><em>It's like a million dollar phone that you just can't ring<em>  
><em>I reached out trying to love but I feel nothing<em>  
><em>Yeah, my heart is numb<em>

_But with you_  
><em>I feel again<em>  
><em>Yeah, with you<em>  
><em>I can feel again<em>

_~One Republic, Feel Again_

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><p>"Remus? When is Dany gonna be back?" Harry probingly asked the older man after his Godmother had been gone for quite a few hours. The sun had set long ago in the sky, meaning that if the Dursley's wanted him back, they would soon be figuring out that this wasn't a day trip. Remus had smiled a little, even Harry could see the guilt in it, and said,<p>

"She's going to get Sirius from jail, so she'll be a little while longer. Why don't you come over and look at some of those pictures and I'll tell you stories about your mom and dad?" Harry smiled. After no one mentioning his parents for the last seven years, it felt good that people were freely talking about them and wanted to tell him something about them. The sun had set long ago in the sky, meaning that if the Dursley's wanted him back, they would soon be figuring out that this wasn't a day trip.

"Okay. But Remus? If Dany told me who the—the…what was it again?"

"Secret keeper."

"Yeah, if she told me who the secret keeper was, why couldn't she remember?" Moony sighed and looked at his best friend's son sadly, although he had to admit he had asked the very same question in the moments he had seen Dany alone before she left with Albus for the Ministry and, presumably, Azkaban.

"Because in the days following the war, there was a ferocious search for you, by Voldemort's followers. She erased the name from her mind to protect you. If you had come forward as a baby and started babbling names like Peter Pettigrew, Sirius and Danilynn Black, and Voldemort, it would have been too easy to find you. You would have been given to Dany, and Sirius if you had remembered the real secret keeper, and you would have been too easy to find. She erased it from her mind to avoid the temptation of going to the Ministry. Does that make sense?"

"I guess so. I just wish that it had been safe for me to know sooner. I don't like the Dursleys. Do I have to go back? I don't want to go back."

"I don't know, Buddy. We have to wait for your Godparents to come back."

"Sirius is really coming?"

"You betcha." Harry spun around as fast as an eight-year-old possibly could and in the doorway was Dany. She smiled warmly at him and he couldn't help but running into her arms. She scooped him up and laughed saying, "Oof, this was a lot easier when you were a little one. You're so big now." She gently placed Harry down and her attention slid over to Remus, "He's at Hogwarts. Albus said that the potions master has some kind of potion that the Ministry uses on the occasions that they wrongly imprison someone. Something about that place just cripples you and the potion supposedly fixes your body, gives you your physical faculties back. Probably the that Dementors destroy you, if I had to venture a guess."

"How is he?" Remus asked as he smiled at one of his closest friends,

"He's…well he's Sirius. Albus said that they'd be along in an hour or so."

"Dany?" Harry's Godmother looked down at him,

"Yeah, Harry?"

"Can I live with you and Sirius?" She sank down towards the floor so she was at eye level with the sitting boy.

"Harry, we should wait until Sirius and Professor Dumbledore get here, so we can decide what to do about that. We want you to live with us, but I'm not sure how to go about it."

"I do believe that I can help with that." Everyone looked up to see Professor Dumbledore in the door where Dany had been standing minutes before.

"Professor Dumbledore? Do you have my Godfather? Dany said you had him." Harry demanded almost frantically of his future Headmaster (although he didn't know that part yet).

"Ah, well we wouldn't want Mrs. Black to be lying would we? No, he's right here." Professor Dumbledore stepped out of the way and there was a man behind him who looked to be about Dany and Remus' age. Harry recognized him from the memory that he had seen earlier today. Dany stood to her full height and hugged Sirius tightly and said something too soft for Harry to hear from where he was. He responded with something that sounded like 'of course'. She released hm and said,

"Harry, this is your Godfather, Sirius. Sirius, well…you know who this is." Harry cautiously moved towards his Godfather who was much taller than he thought he would be. He was taller than Remus and Professor Dumbledore and outright towered over Dany.

"Hey Harry. It's been so long. Too long. Well I hear that you wanna come live with us?" Harry nodded, now unsure of himself, "Well, we'd love to keep you forever and ever, if that's alright with you." Harry grinned now and hugged his Godfather and glanced over the older man's shoulder to see Dany still in the doorway, her eyes watering, with a hand over her mouth.

Unlike Dany, Sirius had no problem supporting Harry's weight, with his much bigger stature, and held him to his side as he moved over to Remus.

"Moony Lupin. It's been a long time since we've seen each other."

"Yeah, Sirius, about that…"

"Don't. You did nothing wrong. Can we please put this behind us?" Remus nodded slowly and Sirius continued to talk, "Now can we please address the fact that Snivellus is Potions Master at Hogwarts?" Dany's face turned to outrage and Remus' turned to shock. Dumbledore closed his eyes and looked like he'd rather be talking about of a number of other more unpleasant topics at the moment.

"What?! Albus have you completely lost your brilliant mind? _Snivelly_ is teaching?"

"Yes, Danilynn, _Severus_ is teaching Potions. He desired to be the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, but I denied him that."

"Bloody shame. Everyone knows that job's cursed."

"Sirius. Danilynn. _There is a child in the room_." Remus lightly added and all four sets of adult eyes turned to Harry, making it clear that even Sirius, who was still holding him, had forgotten that he was there, at least momentarily. Professor Dumbledore pinched the bridge of his nose and said,

"Yes, Severus Snape is teach Potions, and _no_ whatever you say will not convince me to change my mind as to allowing him to do so. Now in regards to Harry, I will arrange a meeting with the Department for the protection of Magical Children and go from there. One thing is clear though: Harry should not go back to where he was. From what I have been told the Dursleys were anything but kind to him. Danilynn, Sirius, Harry, will you go stay at Danilynn's current residence?" Dany cleared her throat,

"Yeah…it's not what I would call warm and homey so I really think we should consider looking into getting a new place."

"Where are you staying?" Sirius asked her curiously, and Harry couldn't help but be interested, himself.

"…My parents old place." She answered after a moment of silence. Sirius cleared his throat.

"Yeah…don't get me wrong, I loved your parents as much as the next person, but maybe moving would be a good idea."

"What's wrong with your parent's place?" Remus asked and Harry silently watched the adults from his position between Sirius and Dany,

"Think Versailles but a little smaller." Harry wasn't sure what Versailles was but it sounded big and scary. He wasn't sure he wanted to see this place, after all.

"Ah."

"Yeah…beautiful? Yes. Child-friendly? Not in the least. I know my family has some property out in Scottish country somewhere, though. I remember going there as a kid and loving it."

"Why don't you just live there?" Harry asked inquisitively. Dany smiled at him and said,

"I wanted to live near London, because of my job. Remember what I told you I do?"

"You're a bad wizard catcher?" She nodded at him,

"Yup. Well the headquarters is in London, so I wanted to be close to my work so I could get to headquarters faster if there was an emergency." Harry nodded. This made sense to even the eight-year-old. Dumbledore reentered the conversation and said,

"Why don't you stay at the Masters house outside London for tonight and then you can talk about where you want to move to. Remember that Grimmauld place and Potter Manor are both also options." The adults on both sides of Harry exchanged a look that told him that neither of these were real options. Sirius nodded,

"I think we'll do that. Dany, you wanna Apparate us?" Dany glanced at harry pointedly and said,

"How about we drive?" Sirius followed her gaze to Harry and nodded. Dany and Sirius hugged Remus and shook hands with Professor Dumbledore and harry waved shyly to both. Together the three of them left the Leaky Cauldron and loaded into Dany's car, for the first time ever, as a family.


	7. Lullaby

**Disclaimer: I promise i'm not stealing JKR's shit so don't steal mine and we can all be friends!**

**Hey guys! So, this is quite a lengthy chapter (for this story, at least) but we get a lot of Sirius' Azkaban background (poor guy) and I improvised on a lot of it because JKR never really talks about what went on there and yeah, but anyways, i loved writing this for some really morbid reason, so enjoy!**

**Read, Review, and Enjoy,**

**Stars.**

* * *

><p><em>So I'll sing a melody<em>  
><em>And hope to God she's listening<em>  
><em>Sleeping softly while I sing<em>  
><em>And I'll be your memories<em>  
><em>Your lullaby for all the times<em>  
><em>Hoping that my voice could get it right<em>

_~Mayday Parade, I Swear This Time I Mean It_

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><p>Sirius hardly remembered the Master's French-inspired home just outside of London, if he was telling the truth. He remembered that it was cathedral-esque and that Dany's room had been a bright color of yellow, but that was about it. Dany's family had owned the house for as long as they had been in power in the Ministry, so for pretty much forever, and the house (if it could even be considered a house and not an estate) was just as old as the surname that owned it. However, Dany was the last Masters left and didn't even carry the name, refusing to even hyphenate, claiming that Danilynn Charlotte Masters-Black sounded too stuck up. He quite agreed with her, actually. James would constantly joke in the year between Dany and Sirius' marriage and his own death that the Black children would eventually inherit the heftiest fortune in the civilized world, if lands and assets, along with liquid currency, were considered.<p>

As they pulled up to where Dany had been staying for the past few years, Sirius quite agreed with his dead friend's assessment: between the Masters' fortune, the remnants of the Blacks' vaults in Gringotts that Sirius' mother hadn't managed to burn through in the years leading to her death (which he learned was soon after his incarceration, thank Merlin), and the vault of gold left to Harry, they were pretty damn rich. He heard Harry gasp from the backseat and say,

"So much better than Privet Drive." Dany winked at her husband and mouthed to him,

"Vernon and Petunia's place." Sirius nodded and turned around to talk to Harry,

"Harry, we're thinking about staying here, but there's also another house up in Scotland that we might move to, instead. Would you like to help us decide? Love, do you have pictures of the country house?" Dany nodded the affirmative as she pulled into the garage, "We'll all talk about that tomorrow, alright?" Harry nodded at his Godfather eagerly and Sirius suspected that he had never had the least bit of say in what happened to him and where he went before. Sirius and Dany clambered out of the car and helped Harry out of the car seat that Sirius had hastily transfigured from a chair after he had finally gotten his wand back from the Ministry, as Dany had never quite had the knack for it, much preferring to blow things up and jinx people and allowing Sirius to change things to something else entirely. Harry was almost done with the booster seats, but he was so skinny that they had decided to keep him in them just for a little while longer. Dany slowly rubbed her eyes as she searched for her keys in her bag. She finally gave up and pulled out her wand,

"Accio keys." The keys popped out of her bag and into her hand and Harry's eyes grew to the size of small dinner plates. Sirius said cautiously to his wife,

"Dany…does he know…"

"Yeah, I told him today but we didn't really talk much about it. Harry, we'll talk more about magic tomorrow, okay, Buddy? Im pretty tired tonight, so do you think that you can wait for tomorrow?" Harry looked slightly put out so Sirius said,

"Why don't I get Harry ready for bed and answer some of his questions tonight? You've had a long day, babe. Go to bed, I'll find your room after he goes to sleep. Sound good, Harry?" The little boy nodded enthusiastically, eager to have some one-on-one time with his Godfather. Dany nodded as well, with a small smile on her face, said goodnight, hugged Harry and then kissed her husband, finally leaving to fall asleep after one of the longest days of her life.

Sirius led Harry to one of the only rooms he knew in this house: Dany's old bedroom. He found the drawer of his old clothes that he had kept here, unbeknownst (or so he had thought at the time) to her parents and pulled out a t-shirt and pajama bottoms and shrunk them to Harry size. "It's not the best but it's all we've get right now. We'll get more soon, alright?" The young boy nodded and changed into the pants and the shirt (which was a Gryffindor shirt. Why not start him young? Sirius figured).

"Sirius? Why don't witches and wizards tell mug—muggles about magic?" Sirius sighed. Trust Lily's kid to ask one of the most serious questions about magic, like, ever.

"Well, if the Muggles knew that magic did really exist, they would want magic fixes for everything, and there are some things you can't fix with magic. Muggles don't understand that even we have our limits."

"You can't bring people back to life." It wasn't a question.

"No, trust me, Bud, I would have brought your mom and dad back in a heartbeat if I could have, but you can't. Reanimating a body is possible but the person never comes back, just a zombie that looks like that person."

"I miss them."

"Me too. Not a day goes by I don't miss your dad. And I know Dany misses your mom just as much. But I'm glad they're together. Your dad would be awfully sad without his Lily."

"They loved each other?"

"They loved each other so much that they couldn't go on living without each other. They had the kind of love that people spend their whole lives looking for, and they found each other at only 11." Sirius led Harry into one of the guest rooms and settled him into bed.

"Sirius? Do you love Dany like that?" Sirius smiled at his godson,

"Yeah, I love her like that. I love her so much it hurts, sometimes."

"I want to love someone like that."

"You will. And if you're anything like your family, it'll be a little redhead girl."

"Really?"

"Mhm, your dad fell in love with a redhead and so did his dad, Charlie. Now, I think it's time for the youngest to Potter to go to sleep. It's almost 10:30." Sirius flipped the lights off and he heard Harry murmur,

"Okay. Goodnight, Sirius." In the dark, Harry sounded so much like James that for a minute he thought he was in their first year dorm and he was 11 again, so young, so bright, so free. But soon the feeling vanished and he was back in the old Masters' house and his best friend's son, not his best friend was in the dark room, tucked into bed.

"Night, Harry. Sleep tight." Sirius softly closed the door and quietly tried to find Dany. He soon found a door that had a soft glow coming from under it, which he opened to find Dany asleep in a large armchair under a quilt that he recognized as the one Lily had made her when she had been in hiding. He carefully walked over and tried to wake her up.

"Dany. Dany. Come on, get up and come to bed." She stirred slightly and muttered something that didn't sounded very charitable. Sirius sighed and unceremoniously picked her up and put her in the bed. She opened an eye that was perfectly awake and she grinned,

"Sucker." Sirius rolled his eyes as she pulled off the quilt and folded it up and threw it back onto the seat of the armchair, revealing that she was in an old shirt and her underwear. She wiggled under the thick blanket and sheets and shivered, "It's about time you came up here. My legs were freezing under that thing."

"That probably has something to do with that fact you aren't wearing pants." Sirius chuckled as he got under the covers as well. It felt weird to sleep in a bed, for the first time in almost seven years, let alone with another person in the bed.

"Shut up." She laughed as she pressed her feet to his legs, making him jump.

"Good God, woman, what have you done to your feet? They're freezing." She laughed and said,

"I told you they were cold. I don't know what you're so shocked about. Your shins are very warm by the way." He rolled his eyes and she waved her wand, turning the lights off. Neither said anything for a moment, letting their eyes adjust and after a minute or two, Sirius could see her profile in the faint light from the cracked window. The dainty, slightly aristocratic features and the fan of silver hair so signature to her family. No one was really sure how all of the Masters ended up with that hair, some suggested inbreeding, other accused them of permanent cosmetic spells at birth, but Sirius was pretty sure that at least one, if not all, of his children would have the silver-blonde hair of their mother. He hoped that at least one of them would have his hair. It was hard to hide that hair, and no matter how much he loved it on her, it had been a real pain the ass to hide if they were trying to avoid being seen on work for the Order or the Auror department. Dany had tried to hide the color in their early years in school, casting daily concealment charms to turn it brown, until one day the spell had given out randomly in the Great Hall in the middle of breakfast, in front of the whole school, during their Third Year. Everyone had stared for a minute, but the situation blew over immediately when James had tossed an arm around her protectively and said, "Well we all know you're a real Masters now, Dan. There's been some talk, but there's no arguing with that hair, eh?"

"Hey, Dany?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm glad to be home."

"This isn't home. This is my parents' old home. I still think we should move out to the country. The house in Scotland is beautiful, and it would be great for Harry to have room to run and play and there's enough room on the grounds for a Quidditch Pitch. And when the leaves change there in autumn, there's nothing like it in the world. You didn't see where he was living before. He needs somewhere to be a kid."

"Danilynn, sweetheart, you completely missed the meaning. Home is where the heart is."

"…Oh."

"Yeah. You, Harry, and me. This is going to be quite the adventure, wouldn't you say?" She laughed putting a small hand over her eyes,

"And to think, no one's told McGonagall that we have Harry yet." Sirius laughed as she put her head on his chest.

"It should probably stay that way, huh? It can be a surprise." He responded.

"Oh, come on, Sirius, she's not as young as she was when she taught us. Another Potter, a surprise one, to boot, raised by _us_, might just take her out." Sirius laughed at the truth behind that and finally he murmured,

"Damn, last time we went to sleep like this we were kids in a war, with no responsibilities but our own lives, which we threw around like it was nothing. No kids, no bills, no adulthood. We were eighteen, young, and stupid. God, we were _so _young. It's unbelievable, isn't it? What seven years can do."

"…What was it like? Azkaban, I mean."

"Dany, I…"

"Please. I want to be able to help you as much as I can, but I can't if I don't know what it was like. I've been in Azkaban, but never with the Dementors near, and it already scares the crap out of me. Please, I want to understand. Help me, help you." Sirius sighed and he saw her head move slightly with his breath. He focused on her hair as he spoke.

"It…it was horrible. Everything was cold and the food was shitty. There was never a blanket for winters and the person in the cell to the right of mine muttered to himself nonstop. The person to the left was insane as hell and just kicked the wall between us all day and all night. Bellatrix was across the hall from me , at first, and she was unfortunately not reduced to a muttering mess, which of course would have been far too uplifting. She would yell things at me, about you, and about Harry. She would lie about how Lily and James died and would tell me that Voldemort had found Harry and killed him. After a while I started to believe it, but she was moved away from me, some new rule about relatives being separated or something, which makes no sense because most death eaters were related through the pure bloodlines. As years passed I felt my memories starting to slip away. The Dementors, they weren't even the worst part, you know. It was forgetting. It wasn't always hearing the bad that killed me. Forgetting the good was the worst part. By the time that I left, I could hardly remember your face. I could barely remember that you had flowers in your hair at our wedding. But I could sure as hell remember what James looked like, dead, but I couldn't remember his laugh, or what his voice sounded like. Just what his face looked like after he had been murdered. Harry…and Harry had become a memory so hard to recall that he had almost vanished. I had to say it out loud. Everyday I would repeat who I was to myself, so I wouldn't forget. I felt so pathetic, but I figured that it was better than forgetting." Nothing was said for a minute, and a silence filled the room that was so strong that it almost formed a third person in the room. Dany slowly moved her hand off his chest, next to where her face was, and took his hand.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I couldn't get you out of there sooner. If you don't mind too much…what did Bellatrix say about me? If you don't want to talk about it, I get it, but I'd just like to know."

"I didn't know Regulus was dead yet. I thought he was still alive and you'd always been pretty friendly too him because he was my brother and despite being a massive prick, he was a decent guy, but he was also a Death Eater."

"Yeah… but what does—"

"I'm getting there. I thought he was alive and, God I can still hear her yelling at me. As they were moving her from the cell across from mine she was shouting at me about how we'd spend the rest of our days in here, the last of the Blacks, and as she passed directly by she said, 'he fucked her, you know. Your brother fucked your pretty little wife before he cut her throat, but you weren't there to stop him. He fucked and killed her. She bled out in your bed, crying.'" Sirius felt Dany shiver and he quite agreed with that reaction.

"Sirius, you know that Regulus was killed not a week after you were arrested. He got cold feet and tried to leave Voldemort's services, but instead they killed him. He was a good man. He was weak, but good at his core. He wouldn't, and you know it."

"I know that now, but I didn't then. I thought you were dead until one day Kingsley Shacklebolt told me the truth when he was on an inspection in place of Fudge, who was too busy having some illicit affair with some woman who works at the Ministry—"

"Oh, no way."

"Yeah, he doesn't exactly bother to cover up his thoughts in the loony bin. But yeah he was thinking about some blonde woman on his desk last time he was at Azkaban, and if I remember correctly, his wife is a brunette."

"Crissy is most definitely a brunette."

"Yeah, that's what I thought. But anyways, Shacklebolt told me the truth because he thought no one deserved to believe that if it wasn't true."

"Kingsley's a good guy. Do you remember training him?"

"I sure do, he was quite the kid, but he was too merciful. Didn't you consistently kick his ass during dueling practice?"

"Yeah, because he didn't want to hurt a woman. He's one of the most valued Aurors in the department now, despite being just a kid. He's only what? 23? Not like we're much older." She laughed and Sirius was surprised to find that the knot that had been in his chest since he walked into Azkaban for the first time, as a prisoner was finally loosening.

"Dany?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"For what?"

"Being you."


	8. Love Don't Die

**Disclaimer: yeah...not mine.**

**Hey! So, we're getting into meeting some of the younger canon characters (red hair, hand me down robes...) and I'm excited! I tried to portray everyone pretty fairly and yeah let me know what you guys thought, please!**

**PS this is a super long chapter. like actually its 10 pages on my computer.**

**Read, Review, and Enjoy,**

**Stars.**

* * *

><p><em>If I know one thing, that's true<em>  
><em>It's that I'm never leaving you<em>  
><em>And you don't say much, yeah, that's true<em>  
><em>But I lose it when you do<em>

_Don't let them tell no lie_  
><em>Love don't die<em>

~_Love Don't Die, The Fray_

* * *

><p>Dany woke up to a bright light in her face, and an arm wrapped around her for the first time in almost seven years. She glanced over at the clock on the bedside table. 7:30 in the morning. She slowly moved Sirius' arm off of her waist and eased off the bed, and quickly scrawled a note to leave on the bed. Silently, she left her husband, sleeping, to go find Harry. Dany quietly padded down the halls, checking each room for her Godson,<p>

"Harry?" She whispered into the fourth guest room, to the lump in the middle of the bed. The lump squirmed a little as she approached to see that he too was still asleep, like his godfather was, the floor above him. Dany wrote him a note as well: _Harry, I am in the kitchen and Sirius is on the floor above you, please find one of us when you wake up, Love, Dany._

She left it next to him in bed and left his room, following the hallway to the kitchen. She had always loved the kitchen in this house. It was big, but not nearly as imposing as the rest of the house. It reminded her of home, of Hogwarts and of the house in Scotland. Dany opened the refrigerator and pulled out the milk and eggs that she was pretty sure weren't spoiled. As she was making scrambled eggs, she softly hummed to herself. As she was finishing up the eggs, she heard feet behind her.

"Hey, Harry. Right on time." She turned around, confirming her suspicions that it wasn't Sirius.

"You knew it was me, before you even turned around. How?" She laughed at her adorable Godson,

"To say that your Godfather isn't an early riser would be a spectacular understatement."

"Ohhh. What am I right on time for? Am I supposed to finish the eggs?" Dany looked at him and her eyes widened, as what he was talking about finally dawned on her,

"Oh, no Harry, I've made breakfast, you're just on time to eat it. Is there anything else you want? I guessed you liked eggs, most kids do, or at least most kids that I knew when I was your age did. I've got juice, milk, and maybe some bacon somewhere, but I have a feeling that you've seen a bit too much of bacon in your life." Dany laughed, referencing the bacon that he had been cooking when she had taken him from the Dursleys.

"Dany? Why are you making me breakfast? I've always made breakfast…"

"Because I honestly think you're too young to be near a stove by yourself. And don't you worry, you'll have chores, but there's no point in setting up a schedule until we decide where we're living." Dany sat him down in one of the chairs around the kitchen table and set a plate in front of him, "Tell me if you don't like something because I'm going to be making you food for quite a while, and would like to make you food that you like."

"Oh, no I love eggs, from what I've had before."

"Harry…what did you eat at the Dursleys?"

"Whatever Dudley didn't eat?" It was like a question. Dany took a helping of eggs herself and sat down next to Harry,

"Well that's just absurd, and from what it looked like Dudley could use a little less feeding, so that makes it just plain stupid." Harry laughed at her statement loudly and upstairs there was a loud thump, followed by a loud voice swearing. Harry's looked at his Godmother, apparently panicked.

"Ah, it appears that we awoke the monster." She muttered and Harry giggled again. There was a shuffling of bare feet coming downstairs and Sirius appeared in pajama pants, hair everywhere.

"Who was that giggling?" Harry nervously raised his hand and Sirius grinned, "Oh, well that's okay then, because if it was Dany it wasn't going to be okay." Dany rolled her eyes and waved her fork at him,

"Oh, shut it you. Breakfast is on the counter." Sirius grinned and ruffled Harry's hair as he walked by and kissed his wife, who laughed at him, as he moved in on the skillet of eggs. Harry watched the two, amazed at how they interacted. He had always assumed that being married always was like being like Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon. At the age of four he had sworn never to get married for that very reason, but now? He wasn't so sure, because this marriage looked like a lot of fun. Sirius sat down with his breakfast on the other side of Harry and asked the boy,

"What do you think about talking about moving? Love, you have the pictures?" Dany nodded and stood, collecting Harry's plate along with her own, after Harry had put his utensils down and chugged his milk. She placed the dishes in the sink and called,

"Hey babe? Can you do the dishes?" as she left the room for the pictures of her childhood home. It was the house that she had grown up in, had loved and missed, and had hid in during the immediate fallout after the Potter's deaths and Sirius' arrest. She found the pictures she was looking for and brought them back down to the Kitchen, to where Sirius had apparently finished the dishes and was now making soap bubbles simply for Harry's enjoyment. She laughed and both boys looked at her, eyes wide and looking very much like they'd been caught with their hands in the proverbial cookie jar. She giggled again at their faces and pulled out her wand and quickly waved it, turning her husband's hair purple. Harry shrieked with laughter and Sirius looked mortified.

"Danilynn Black! What have you done to my hair?" She laughed again,

"Aw, I just…improved upon its already awesome color." Sirius didn't seem to believe her and yelled,

"Harry! Hold her down!" Harry ran at her and Dany let him tackle her, it being too easy for her to throw off her Godson. She fell to the ground as Harry held her arms down. Sirius came at her and proceeded to tickle her mercilessly (although she kept pretty tight control of her movements so she didn't hurt Harry), her shouts of laughter mingling with Sirius' screams of, "Do you submit? Will you turn my hair back? I want my hair back, Black!" She managed to yell out through her laughter,

"I submit! You win! Tell your partner in crime to let me up and I'll change it!" Sirius scrutinized his wife,

"Alrighty, Harry, let her up." Harry released her arms and Dany waved her wand, turning Sirius' hair back to its original color, except for a lone stripe directly down the back of his head. Harry saw it and giggled but Dany shook her head slightly and pressed a finger to her lips. He nodded back at her and they both smothered their giggles as Sirius gathered the pictures from where Dany had dropped them on the table, oblivious to the purple stripe. Dany lifted Harry back into a chair and said,

"So, this is the other house that we're thinking about moving into. What do you think?" Harry looked at her uncertainly. The house was beautiful, painted a buttery yellow with white columns in the front and brick chimneys. Dany loved the house, it was just as gorgeous on the inside and she still could remember the smell of the leaves changing in the fall, and what it felt like to see the first snowfall of the year cover the grounds from inside the library.

"I—I don't know…I mean I like it here, but there's awfully nice too. Dany where do you wanna live?" She smiled and said,

"I've lived both places and I'd be happy with either. It's up to you two boys." She gestured to her Godson and husband.

"I'd think you'd be happier somewhere like there, Harry. There's lots of room to run around and play games and you can invite your friends over, and there's a great hill for sledding on the back of the property." Sirius said softly, "It's much more like a home than this house is." Harry nodded thoughtfully. Dany cleared her throat,

"Why don't we take the car into town and get Harry some clothes and toys first, before anything is decided? Don't think I don't recognize that shirt that he's wearing, Sirius Orion Black." Sirius nodded at her and grinned,

"Why not start him young?" referencing the Gryffindor Quidditch shirt that had been shrunk down to Harry's size. Dany didn't looked convinced and said,

"Mhm."

"Aw, come on, Dan, you were just as much of a hot-blooded Gryffindor as I was." She grinned at her husband and lightly tapped his nose, as she scooped up her godson,

"Still am. Now, go get dressed, both of you." She ordered them both with a smile on her face.

* * *

><p>An hour later saw all three of them in the car, heading back into London. Dany was driving because "Sirius Black, you were a horrible driver when we were 19, and I'm not letting you drive our Godson anywhere until you go through a driving class". So, to appease Sirius, she had let him be in charge of the radio in the car. Harry smiled, glad that he wasn't with the Dursleys, for the first whole day in, well, his whole life, or so it seemed.<p>

So, Sirius had nonstop been fiddling with the knobs in the car, trying to settle on a song. He paused on a song with an angry man yelling.

"Hey, Dan, you remember this song?" She laughed a little and nodded, but as profanities started to spew out of the speakers, she changed it, gesturing with her head towards the backseat, "Oh, yeah. Little kids and swearing. Right. Got it." He tried again, settling on a man singing with a guitar. The song sounded pretty familiar to Harry, but didn't remember it with a guitar. Harry curiously asked the adults,

"What's it called when you play a normal song with just a guitar?" Sirius shrugged and said,

"Don't ask me. I've got no ear for music. Dany?" She shook her head slightly, in disbelief, Harry guessed,

"Acoustic. The acoustic version." Sirius shrugged again,

"Sounds right to me, anyways, Bud we've got to get you some clothes that aren't mine, huh?" Harry hesitantly nodded. He knew that they made clothes in his size, but had he ever worn any? Since Dudley was a whopping seven sizes larger than Harry, the answer would be a resounding 'no'.

"Hey, Sirius? I was thinking…I know that you and Remus have had a erm, strained relationship for a while, but I was thinking maybe he should move in with us."

"What? Dany…"

"Look. There's no way in, uhm, you-know-where that we can raise a kid on our own. We need someone who's got a level head. Remus would be good for Harry. Just think about it."

"Dan, after what he did…I don't know. I just don't know if I can do it." Harry wondered just what had happened between his Godparents and Remus. But before he could even begin to consider asking, Dany perked up and said,

"I know, just consider it, alright? Oh, look here boys, time to get Harry some clothes that were designed to be Harry sized, and not Sirius sized. Babe, can you tell me if I get close to the car behind me?" Sirius nodded and poked his head out of the window,

"You're good…you're good…you're good…you're goo—STOP!" Dany slammed the breaks, almost flinging them out of the windshield, except for Harry, who remained firmly in his booster seat. Dany whacked her husband over the head, frowning a little.

"_That_ is why Harry is still in a booster seat. That would just be peachy. We all survive one of the darkest and most powerful wizards _of all time_, only to be killed by a Muggle car accident, caused by your rotten depth perception." Sirius shrugged rather unabashedly,

"I became an Auror, not a traffic cop for a reason you know."

"How you were one of the best beaters Hogwarts has ever seen is beyond me. I'm surprised you managed to hit the bludger at this rate." Dany muttered as she got out and then helped Harry out of his booster seat (which although he had been a little put off by, he was now infinitely thankful for). Sirius got out and inspected the back of the car.

"See? We didn't even hit it!" Harry followed Dany to inspect the back of the car as well. Harry laughed,

"We _almost _hit it, Padfoot." And Harry was certainly telling the truth. The bumpers of the cars were no more than an inch apart, a few centimeters at best. Dany laughed at her Godson's assessment. The Ford Anglia that they had almost collided with looked fairly new, albeit a little beaten up, Harry thought, and just then, a redheaded family walked out from inside a store to their right. The man walked up to them and Harry saw Dany discreetly pull her wand out, she was expecting trouble that much was clear to the young boy.

"Excuse me, Danilynn, isn't it?" Dany nodded to him cautiously, "Yes, well you may not be aware, actually you're most likely not aware, but I'm—"

"Arthur Weasley. Department for the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts." The man raised an eyebrow.

"I'm surprised you know me, Miss. Masters." Harry saw Dany exchange a glance with Sirius,

"Actually, my name, it's not Masters…it's Black." Arthur Weasley raised an eyebrow,

"Black? As in…Merlin, I remember that you two were, uhm, involved in school, but I never imagined—"

"That I'm right here?" Arthur Weasley turned around to face Harry's Godfather. He wheeled to the woman that was with him,

"Molly! It's Sirius Black, take Percy and run!" The woman pulled her son back, but he protested.

"But Mom, didn't you read the paper this morning?"

"Not now, Percy."

"But Sirius Black was wrongly accused! How would he have escaped Azkaban otherwise?" Arthur and Molly looked at their son,

"Percy…are you sure?"

"Positive! I saw his face in the Prophet, except he looks better now." The older boy pulled out a newspaper from his bag that he carried and handed it to his father.

"By Merlin…here it is: 'Sirius Black, the man who was charged with the murder of Lily and James Potter, Peter Pettigrew, and thirteen muggles almost eight years ago, was found innocent this morning after evidence was turned into the Wizengamot, implicating no other than Peter Pettigrew, whom was previously believed to be dead, for the crimes formerly assigned to the last Black. Neither Mr. Black nor Danilynn Masters, the woman long believed to be engaged if not married to him, were able to be found for comment.'" Arthur and Molly glanced at each other, astounded.

"Oh, oh my. I am so sorry. I remember you both in school, and it seemed so odd that you would have given them up so easily, but everything was so convincing. Even Dumbledore testified against you." Molly addressed the last part to Sirius, "But please, both of you, come over for dinner tonight, and…oh, is he yours?" Dany laughed and Harry's eyes widened in shock, as he realized that she was referring to him.

"Oh, no, this is our Godson, Harry. Harry this is Arthur and Molly Weasley. Molly, Arthur, this is Harry, Lily and James' son." Molly placed a hand over her heart as she leaned down.

"Oh, sweetie, you look just like your dad, just like James." Harry smiled at this,

"Like my dad?" Molly smiled at this reaction.

"Just like him. Oh, goodness, I bet you our Ronnie is just about your age. He's at home though. We have seven kids, but Percy was the only one interested in going to the bookstore. You don't have any of your own?" Sirius shook his head and laughed

"No, no kids. I'd like some eventually but unlike Lily and James we were careful about pregnancy during the war." Dany smiled,

"We love Harry like a son, but I've always had a soft spot for a daughter." Molly laughed and gestured to Harry, who had wandered off with Percy, who was showing Harry the moving pictures on the front of the Daily Prophet.

"I understand, I had been given six boys, and I was sure I'd never have a girl but eventually little Ginny was born, not a year after Ronnie. It's certainly different, having a girl, compared to a boy." Dany nodded,

"Well, I'd actually would just really like to see this one here," as she gestured to Sirius who rolled his eyes and put an arm around her waist, "be wrapped around a baby girl's little finger. It'd be all good fun because you know what they say about fathers and their daughters…" Molly grinned,

"…The biggest players are blessed with the most beautiful daughters." Sirius' face drained of color and muttered,

"Lord, help me. I have a feeling that you two are going to get on spectacularly."

"Well, Danilynn was always someone who seemed pretty awesome in school. You all were looked up to in school, you know. You two, Lily and James, Remus, Marlene, Alice, Frank, you were envied by everyone in school."

"Oh, gosh Molly, call me Dany. Danilynn reminds me of frilly dresses and fancy foods that aren't legal in some countries. Like escargot. Damn French people." Molly laughed.

"Dany Black, I have a feeling we're going to get on famously."

"I have a feeling you're right, Molly."

"We have to get together sometime! You don't still live in your parents old house up in Scotland, do you?" Harry was listening to the adults' conversation because the novelty of the moving pictures had soon worn off and Percy was just horrible company, if he was being honest.

"Um, we're not really sure. I haven't been lately, but the house that my dad used to run the Ministry out of is no place for a child, which is where I've been staying because of my job."

"Oh, you work for the Ministry?"

"She's an Auror, Molly." Mr. Weasley added,

"Of course! I remember you in school, always ready to pick a fight for the greater good, huh?" Dany visible winced at the term. The Greater Good.

"Yeah, well it was easier living near London, especially right after the war ended. There was no such thing as 'off-call' for over a year, remember Arthur? Every time someone breathed too loud someone else thought it was a bloody Death Eater coming back to get them." Dany shuttered at the memory, as did Arthur, who also hadn't gotten a moment to relax in the months immediately following the war, "But we're thinking about moving back up there. It's much better suited to children than the London house is. Less like a palace, more like a home."

"Oh, well we live not two hours away from there, you know! We had absolutely no idea until we were driving north and we went right on by! Ginny demanded to know what was up the driveway but we couldn't see past the gates."

"Yeah, my parents were really big into privacy. Minister of Magic and all." Percy zoned right in on the conversation at the mention of the Minster.

"Your dad's Minister of Magic?" Dany nodded slowly, warily casting an eye around,

"He was when we were all in school."

"What's his name? I know all of the Minister's names." Dany exchanged a look with Molly who shrugged as if to say, 'I don't know why he knows that',

"Daniel Masters. And my mom's name was Rhea."

"Daniel Masters was _your_ dad? That's so cool. Dad why can't you be Minister of Magic?"

"Because I don't have the last name for it. Minister Weasley just doesn't have the same ring, wouldn't you say?" the adults laughed, but Dany looked a little sad, Harry noticed.

"Well, we should probably get off the street, I know the war's over, but old habits die hard it appears. Sirius looks like he's about ready to jump out of his skin, poor man. But you must come over for dinner tonight!" Everyone looked at Sirius, who was impatiently tapping his hand against his thigh, watching people who walked by the group of wizards, automatically sizing them up. Dany nudged him,

"What do you think, Babe? Dinner with the Weasleys tonight?" He nodded with a smile,

"Sure, we'd love to Molly, you said you had a boy around Harry's age?" Arthur nodded back at the other man,

"Ronnie's eight. He and Harry would get along great, I'm sure." Harry perked up,

"I'm eight, too!"

"See? Perfect! I'll give you our address and just Floo, apparate, or drive over at about 5, alright?" Dany nodded and accepted the hastily scrawled address from Molly.

"The Burrow, Ottery St. Catchpole. You live in Ottery St. Catchpole? I know just where that is, and so does Sirius."

"I do?"

"Yeah…that's where that bar is that we used to go to during summer—"

"Oh! Yeah, I know where it is." Molly raised an eyebrow and made a mental note to watch where Charlie, Bill, and Percy went during their summer breaks. Not that she had to worry about Percy. He was as clean cut a child as there ever was. Charlie and Bill on the other hand, were Fifth and Sixth Years and enjoyed getting into trouble more than they should.

"So, we'll be expecting you all around 5?"

"We'll be there! We might get lost a few times, but we'll be there." Harry waved bye to everyone, Molly hugged Dany and Sirius both, taking them both by surprise and Arthur shook both of their hands. All three Weasleys waved goodbye to Harry and got in the Ford Anglia to head presumably to the Burrow.

The truly ironic part of this encounter wasn't that it occurred in the Muggle world, or that 11-year-old Percy read the newspaper more than his parents, it was that as Sirius and Dany watched the Weasley family drive away, both Arthur and Molly were thinking, 'they're good for each other' where almost 10 years ago, they had taken bets on how long the last marriage of the Blacks and Masters would last. The highest bet hadn't exceeded 6 months.


	9. Who Will Have Mercy on your Soul?

**Disclaimer: Not Mine. Be sorry for me.**

**Hey! So, I know I've been gone for so long, but I'm updating most of my stories, so be proud! So this is one of the single longest chapters I've written, in pretty much ever (it's like almost 15 pages in Microsoft Word), but I'm really happy with how it turned out.**

**Stay tuned for the legal battle to come.**

**PS I know the song lyrics seem weirdly depressing, it made sense to me, don't ask, I don't know. And the poem is by William Ernest Henley (it's not mine but I love it and it was Nelson Mandela's favorite so I figure I'm at least in good company).**

**Read, Review, and Enjoy,**

**Stars.**

* * *

><p><em>Oh, Death<br>Won't you spare me over til another year_

_But what is this, that I cant see_  
><em>with ice cold hands taking hold of me<em>

_When God is gone and the Devil takes hold,_  
><em>who will have mercy on your soul<em>

_No wealth, no ruin, no silver, no gold_  
><em>Nothing satisfies me but your soul<em>

_Well I am Death, none can excel,_  
><em>I'll open the door to heaven or hell.<em>

_Oh, Death_  
><em>my name is Death and the end is here...<em>

~_Oh, Death, Jen Titus__**  
><strong>_

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><p>"I don't care about the blood protection, Dumbledore! You're not taking him back there." Sirius winced as he sat with Harry in the Kitchen of the London house. They had just arrived back after going clothes shopping for Harry, only to find Albus Dumbledore waiting to speak to the wife of Sirius Black. He could still hear Dany shouting at Dumbledore in the Dining Room, which meant that their godson could hear her too. Sirius took Harry's hand and squeezed.<p>

"Danilynn, you must understand—"

"_What_? Understand what, Albus? No, it's time _you_ understand. We have nothing. That night in Godric's Hollow, _you_ won a war but _we_ lost our brother and sister. Harry lost his parents. That boy will no longer be collateral damage for the greater good. You will take him back to them over my cold, dead body, and be warned Dumbledore, my family is particularly difficult to kill. And don't forget, Sirius wouldn't stand for it either and Blacks are just as obstinate as I am."

"Danilynn Black. Listen—"

"No. _You listen_. I don't care if you led the Order, or if you have an Order of Merlin, or that you're Headmaster of Hogwarts. None of that will stop me from smearing your innards onto the walls of this room if you try to take that little boy away from us."

"Danilynn, killing would be inadvisable. I'm sure Sirius' cell is still empty, and Fudge would be more than happy to place you in it."

Sirius and Harry looked down at the table they were sitting at. The Dining Room was directly above them and the table was starting to shake in the kitchen. It was Dany's aura. Sirius could feel the energy from it slamming into him from where he was sitting.

"What you forget is how good I am at disappearing. I could take my husband and my godson and vanish. You'd never see hide nor hair of any of us ever again. Be careful Dumbledore, when Voldemort returns, and he will, you'll need us. _All_ of us. I'm not giving you a choice. Help us keep him, or I'll do it myself. Cornelius Fudge is nothing, _nothing_ compared to the man my father was and my brother is. I was trained from an early age to manipulate, cheat, and bribe. We are keeping him whether you like it or not."

Sirius; head snapped up. Dany's older brother: Rhaegar, had been the golden boy of the Ministry, three years his sister's senior, prepared to walk in his father's footsteps, until he had been tragically killed in the same raid that had killed both of Dany's parents when she was seventeen, just after they had graduated Hogwarts. Somehow the youngest Masters had survived, despite being in the same house as both her parents and brother. But something was wrong with her statement.

"_My father was and my brother is_…" He whispered to himself. Harry looked at him curiously.

"What'd you say, Padfoot?"

"Nothing, Buddy. Nothing at all…"

"Danilynn—"

"Get out, Albus. Get out now."

"Mrs. Black—"

"_Out. Now."_ Moments later there were footsteps descending the stairs from the third floor. Albus Dumbledore walked into the kitchen to see Sirius and Harry sitting together, staring at him. Dany walked down behind him, her hands clenching and unclenching (a signal that they were aching for her wand), eyes blazing, heels clicking on the marble floors, hair shining like a crown. Sirius smiled a little, _this_ was the Dany that he fought alongside during the war. Brilliant, strong, aggressive, passionate, and born to lead. This was the Dany he had wanted to spend the rest of his life with, and there she was. Time had done nothing to her spirit, he was glad to see. This was the Dany that talked about love like she talked about war, with venom in her smile and knives in her hand.

"Sirius, You must understand the circumstances of Harry's living conditions. Petunia is the last living relative of Lily. Lily Potter's sacrifice makes it necessary that Harry live with a living relative. A blood relative." Sirius looked at Dany who shook her head slightly. Sirius replied as he stood to his full height,

"No, Albus. They mistreated him and hurt him, and I'll be dead before he goes back there." Sirius saw Dany quickly grab something off the counter next to her, "James was my brother and he trusted me to protect his son when he couldn't. Dany's right. Get out." Sirius muttered to Harry, "Leave the room and run upstairs, alright? We'll be there in a moment." Harry dashed out of the room and once his feet had made it up the stairs Dany stated,

"Albus, the door is that way." Dumbledore shook his head,

"You both need to listen—" Dany pressed the knife she had taken from the countertop to the old man's throat with a disturbingly practiced, steady hand,

"No, you need to listen. The door. _Now_." Sirius watched as his wife walked one of the most powerful wizards in the world to the door, pressing a dagger, with her family's words printed on the blade, to his throat. Once Dany had departed with Dumbledore, Sirius went upstairs to talk to Harry. Harry was sitting on the bed he had been sharing with Dany. Sirius sat down next to Harry.

"Are you going to give me back?" He asked in a small voice. Sirius pulled him into his lap and rested his chin on the top of his Godson's head,

"No, we're going to keep you forever. We've got you now, and no matter what happens, you're ours. You are ours, and we are yours." The door opened softly to reveal Dany.

"But we cannot stay here, that much is now obvious. We have to move to the Scotland house, even if it's just for now. Too many people know this house." She said quietly, but without question in her voice. She sat down next to Sirius and Harry. Sirius moved a hand from around Harry to around her waist. She leaned her head on his shoulder silently and closed her eyes. Being the Dany that she had been when she was speaking to Dumbledore drained her.

"Dany? Padfoot? Why did the table shake?" Dany lifted her head curiously,

"What?" Sirius sighed,

"Well, Harry, there's something that you have to understand about wizards and witches. Each one of us, and even Muggles, has something called an Aura. It's a type of energy that kind of floats around us, and the more powerful the witch or wizard, the more his or her Aura affects the things, and even the people, around the person. So, in an exceptionally powerful wizard, or in this case, witch, their aura can affect the things around them. The table was shaking because Dany was starting to get upset with Professor Dumbledore because he wanted to take you away from us. The more upset or emotional the witch or wizard gets, the more the Aura starts to affect things. Does that make sense?" Harry nodded slowly, taking in all of that information. Dany looked a little embarrassed,

"Was the table really shaking? I'm sorry." Sirius shrugged,

"Don't worry, it's happened to the best of us. Actually it _only_ happens to the best of us."

"Remember that time your Aura hung Snivelly from a chandelier in the Entrance Hall?" Dany giggled and Sirius laughed,

"Yeah, well the slimy git was asking for it. You don't curse my best mate and expect me not to do anything."

"My dad?"

"Yeah, this boy we went to school with curse your dad and I got really mad and my Aura kinda hung him on a chandelier by the back of his pants." Harry laughed too,

"That's pretty funny. So you're both super powerful?" Dany and Sirius exchanged a look,

"So are you, Harry. And so is Professor Dumbledore."

"Can't he take me away if he's powerful?" Dany smiled and took her Godson's hands as Sirius said,

"He isn't going to take you anywhere. He might be more powerful than us alone, but together? No way. You're ours forever." Harry smiled as Dany returned to her normal, survivalist self,

"Well, we need to leave. Babe, can you and Harry grab the bags from the car? I need to grab some stuff to take to the Scotland house." Sirius nodded and he and Harry, after getting lost three or four times, finally retrieved the bags full of stuff for Harry, including clothes, and brought them (or tried to) back to the room Sirius and Dany had been using for the past two or so nights. But they somehow ended up in the basement instead.

"Padfoot? How did we end up here?"

"…I have no idea, Harry. All I know is that I'll be glad to be in a house with a better floor plan than this one." Harry laughed, but his laugh soon faded away once they reached the basement. It was a training room for martial arts, light magic, the dark arts, anything that can keep you alive. A door was open in the back of the dark room and white light was pouring out of the doorway. A figure moved around in the light, casting a shadow in the bath of light. Sirius and Harry approached it and looked in the room.

"So this is the illusive Master's armory." Dany turned around and laughed,

"One of the many. I was just getting some of the things I keep here. Like this, for one. It was a gift. From Rhaegar." She tossed Sirius a sheathed knife about as long as his forearm. He pulled it out and looked at the blade.

"_Invictus_."

"What does that mean?" Harry asked curiously,

"Harry, all three of us are from very old families, and each of our families has mottos, family words, Sirius' family, the Black's, their words are—"

"Toujours pur. It roughly translates to 'always, or forever, pure'. It's horrid really." Sirius interrupted,

"Your family, the Potter's, your words are 'Genus ipsum prius'. It means 'family before self'."

"What are yours then, Dany?"

"Well, because I married Sirius, I took his surname, and his words, but the Master's family words, well word actually, is 'invictus'. It means 'unconquered'. Of course that brings up the poem, 'Invictus'. I, actually Sirius I don't think you know this because I got it after you were arrested, but I have it tattooed on my back." Sirius raised an eyebrow. He hadn't known that.

"How does it go?" Harry asked curiously, Dany smiled and softly recited,

"_Out of the night that covers me,__  
><em>_Black as the Pit from pole to pole,__  
><em>_I thank whatever gods may be__  
><em>_For my unconquerable soul._

_In the fell clutch of circumstance__  
><em>_I have not winced nor cried aloud.__  
><em>_Under the bludgeonings of chance__  
><em>_My head is bloody, but unbowed._

_Beyond this place of wrath and tears__  
><em>_Looms but the Horror of the shade,__  
><em>_And yet the menace of the years__  
><em>_Finds, and shall find, me unafraid._

_It matters not how strait the gate,__  
><em>_How charged with punishments the scroll.__  
><em>_I am the master of my fate:__  
><em>_I am the captain of my soul."_

"I love it! Padfoot why can't that be your family motto?" Dany laughed at her Godson.

"I know, that's what I said when I married him, truth be told. But that's okay, I'm still a Masters at heart." Sirius smiled,

"I was never really a Black. I was always a Potter. Your grandparents treated me as their son; _they _were my family, not the Blacks. But they're gone now, and now my family is here. And no matter what happens, we're together." Harry, although he was quite grown up at eight years old, felt like crying he was so happy. Dany quickly wiped her eyes, not fooling anybody into thinking she hadn't been crying too.

"Dan, is Rhaegar alive?" She looked at her husband slyly.

"You heard that? Yes, he is, but he is in hiding. I wasn't a great threat to the Death Eaters when I was seventeen because if I were to have children, they wouldn't carry my surname, but yours, but Rhaegar was twenty during the raid, and a man that was no longer a boy. He would have children and they would carry the last name of my family. He had to be eliminated, but Voldemort failed to do so. Ray found me that night and I helped him fake his death. Both our parents were killed, but we remained. He left with the promise to return upon Voldemort's downfall, to reclaim our place in power at the Ministry, however the Malfoy's have made that rather difficult, so he has been putting off revealing anything to the Ministry. But yes to answer your question, I am not the last of my line."

"I'll be damned. I always thought…"

"He is married you know, my brother. To a woman named Shay. They have a son named Mason, who is 8, and a daughter named Danilynn, who is 9. Thankfully she goes by Lynn."

"A niece and nephew? Can we meet them?" She nodded slowly,

"Soon, but for now, we must leave. Ready?" She shouldered her bag and took the knife back from Sirius, quickly strapping it onto her leg. She put her hand out and Sirius took it. She took Harry's hand with her other hand and said, "Hold on tight." Then, it felt like they were all being squeezed through a tube, and spit out somewhere else. Sirius and Dany landed on their feet, being much more accustomed to Apparation than Harry. Sirius helped up Harry laughing,

"Congrats on Apparating for the first time!"

"How come I didn't land on my feet?"

"It comes with practice, little man. But I commend you on not hurling. Most people do the first time they Apparate."

"I did!" Dany informed him as she brushed the dust from the dirt road they were on off her Godson's clothes, "Now, we must get inside the grounds. Love, you might want to carry Harry. It's a long walk up the driveway." Sirius nodded and said,

"Hop on up." Harry jumped onto Sirius' back and Dany walked up to the ornate gates directly in front of them. She ran a single finger down the meeting point of the gates and the air seemed to shutter around the fence. She pushed open the gates and waved to them,

"Come on, we need to put the wards back up around the grounds." Sirius walked through the gates and Dany closed them behind him. She pulled out her wand, "Protego horribilis. Protego Maxima. Protego Totalum." She repeated it three more times, pointing her wand in directions Sirius recognized as north, east, and west (the gate being south). She put her wand away and they began the long trek up the driveway to the house.

After a fifteen-minute walk, the oak trees that were loaded down with moss broke and the house came into view. Harry perked up and exclaimed,

"We're gonna live here?" Sirius put him on his feet and Dany nodded,

"Yeah, so Padfoot…" she slipped her heels off and held them by the straps in one hand, "…race you." He grinned and so did Harry and without another word, both the adults and Harry took off down the driveway laughing. Sirius took the lead with his long legs and for the first time in almost 10 years, the house was filled with laughter and the sounds of life.

Sirius slowed down slightly and allowed his slightly gangly Godson to overtake him. The young boy triumphantly reached the front porch with a victorious shout. The adults caught up to him, Sirius carrying Dany bridal style shouting, "welcome home, Honey!" as she laughed and tried to hold onto her bag and wand. He put her down only to pick up Harry and sit him on his shoulders. Dany placed a hand on the heavy wooden double doors, which glowed slightly for a moment at her touch. Harry looked amazed and she continued to fiddle with the doors

"They're protective enchantments. I put them up on my way out of the house last time I was here. Just as a precaution."

"And when was that?" Sirius asked. They hadn't been living here when he was arrested, which made him curious.

"I moved back here for a year and a half almost eight years ago."

"When I was arrested." Dany sighed at this. She originally planned on not telling him at all that she had been forced out of the house they had been sharing, but as it was, she didn't seem to have an option.

"The press had a field day with that, and our old house turned very quickly into a circus, so I took everything personal, clothes, pictures, and the like and moved out of London. I needed privacy and no one would give it to me, so I took it. Once the hype had died down, I moved into my family's London house afterwards, to be close to work. Now, are we going to go in?" Harry nodded enthusiastically, "Well go on then, the door's open." Dany laughed as he tried to push open the door from his position on Sirius' shoulders. Sirius silently reached out and pushed the door open, unbeknownst to Harry, who then seemed incredibly proud of himself for opening such a heavy door. Sirius set him down on request then Harry ran in and gasped. The house was enormous. The entryway had dark, wooden floors like the rest of the house, and a curved double staircase. There was a balcony on the second floor overlooking the doorway and a crystal chandelier hanging from the second floor ceiling, sparkling in the light from the open door. Through the doorway between the staircases, he could see what looked like a sitting room with a grand piano covered in a sheet.

Dany and Sirius followed him in and Dany waved her wand. Windows opened and curtains moved, letting light in, the sheet vanished off the piano and the top opened on its own. The chandelier lit up and within moments, the house was back to being lived in. Sirius pulled Harry's bags out from the bag that Dany carried and said,

"Come on, want to go see your room? We can change it to however you like." Harry nodded and Dany called up to her husband,

"Put him in Ray's old room. He doesn't use it when he's here anymore." Sirius nodded and led him to the room of Dany's older brother. A big room, with grey walls, a large bed, and ceiling-to-floor windows in one of the walls, overlooking the woods and the yard.

"I can do anything I want?"

"You can decorate it anyway you want, however there will be rules. No girls in Muggle bikinis, for one." Dany said as she pointedly looked at her husband, who seemed rather unabashed at this comment, despite it being aimed at him.

"Yeah, there will be house rules too, but they'll only be to keep you safe."

"Well, can one of you change the walls blue?" Dany nodded and asked,

"What kind of blue? A light one or a really bright blue?" Harry considered this for a moment and decided he could have the best of both worlds,

"Some where in the middle, please." Dany laughed and thought for a moment then waved her wand. The walls turned a color of blue right between pale and bright.

"Oh, it's perfect, thank you!"

"You're very welcome, and good job using your manners. Where did you learn them?"

"No one ever really taught them to me, I just kind of picked them up." Sirius, who was putting Harry's clothes into the drawers and closet, chuckled and said,

"That's the Lily in him. I'm pretty sure that James still didn't know the term 'thank you' on the day he died." Dany nodded in agreement. Admittedly, James was a nice person but manners were never his strong suit, as he seldom, if ever, used them. As Sirius finished putting his clothes away, he checked the time, as he just noticed that the sun was to beginning to lower in the sky, "Dan, we gotta get to the Weasley's soon. It's 5 'til 5." She nodded and said,

"Yeah, just let me go put this in our room and we'll be on our way. Can you change him into something that's not yours?" Sirius nodded as Dany vanished out the door. He heard her open another door and there was some movement in the opposite end of the hallway. She reappeared a minute later, with changed clothes, a bright blue dress and heels. Sirius raised an eyebrow,

"It's dinner, Babe. Dinner with the Weasleys." She shrugged,

"Old habits, I suppose. Are we going or not?" Harry nodded enthusiastically and Sirius nodded as well. He held out a hand and she placed her hand in his and Harry's on top of hers, "Ready? 1…2…3!" And with a crack and a moment of being vacuumed through a tube, the three of them were standing on a dirt road, with a very ad hoc house in front of them. With parts added on to the side and the top, the Burrow appeared like the inside would be very, _very_, cramped. Dany and Sirius each took one of Harry's hands and they approached the house. Once they reached the door, Sirius reached out and knocked on the door, somewhat assertively to be sure he would be beard over the seven children and two adults that were ensconced within the house.

A moment later, Molly swung the door open with a smile on her face,

"Hello you lot! Come in, come in! Arthur they're here! For the love of God George, can you not do that?"

"He's not George, I am!"

"I'm sorry, you two."

"We're only joking, Mom. I really am George." As Molly scolded her children, she made way for the three guests to get through the door. Dany and Sirius walked through first, and three of the seven children fell silent immediately. It appeared that older three were the ones to go quiet and one of them whacked their brothers over the head with a shoe to shut them up. One of them came up to the adults and said,

"You're Sirius Black. And you…you're a Masters, aren't you?" Dany nodded slowly, quite confused, "Your family is in our History of Magic textbook! I recognized your hair; doesn't everyone in your family have it? How does that happen? Inbreeding? Spells? How?" Dany laughed,

"I'm not really sure, it just kind of happens. I was the baby of my family so I couldn't tell you."

"I'm Bill Weasley, by the way. I'm the oldest, 16, and these here are Charlie, 15; Percy, 13; Fred and George, they're twins and also 10; Ronnie—"

"Don't call me Ronnie!"

"—Sorry, this is _Ron_, who's 8; and Ginny here is 7." Sirius and Dany both shook hand with the oldest child and smiled a little to each other. Sixteen and in Hogwarts, now _those_ were some of the best days of both their lives. _"Pads, Lily thinks I'm an asshole!" "James…_everyone_ thinks you're an asshole."_

"You all go to Hogwarts then?" Bill and Percy bounded up to the adults,

"Yup! Gryffindors, all of us! Mom and Dad were too, right?" Mr. and Mrs. Weasley both nodded, as Arthur had appeared with a boy about Harry's age and a girl that looked slightly younger.

"We're from a long line of Gryffindors alright. All of Molly's siblings were in Gryffindor too." Harry tugged on the sleeve of Sirius' shirt,

"Padfoot? What's a Gryffindor?" The Weasley children gasped.

"You don't know what Hogwarts is?" Harry hesitantly shook his head. Charlie, Bill, and Percy all exchanged a look and herded Harry and their younger siblings away for a teaching session about the fabled school.

"Be back in half an hour for dinner!"

"'Kay, Mom!" The adults all settled down around the table and Dany said,

"Molly, I don't know if you remember but I was—"

"Alice's friend? Yes, even though I was almost out of the house when you were a First Year, I remember you at our house. I miss her. My baby sister." Sirius shuttered,

"What happened to Frank and Alice…it was horrible. I'm sorry you had to lose your sister like that."

"Thank you. But they were fighting for what they believed in, you all were. When she'd come home for the holidays, you should have heard her talk about you lot. When I was a girl, I used to be so jealous of the friends she had. I mean I was never particularly popular in school, but she was best friends with the daughter of the _Minister of Magic _and the brightest witch Hogwarts had seen in years,she hung out with the Black and Potter heirs, and her closest friend was one of the McKinnons. Then she married into the Longbottom family, and I was so jealous, I was only 6 years older than her, but then it felt like a lifetime. She was seventeen and had this life that seemed perfect. But of course, some of the things she embellished on to make me jealous, all siblings do, but still." Sirius nodded,

"Oh, my brother…oh Regulus, that boy was forever trying to impress everyone, mainly me, with who he was friends with. Unlike with you it didn't work. I could live the rest of my life and never see Lucius Malfoy again, thank you very much." Everyone around the table laughed.

"Dany, do you have siblings? I thought you had a brother, at least." She nodded,

"Yes, I have a brother. Rhaegar is three years older than me, and gave up trying to impress me when I turned seventeen and became an Auror."

"That's probably because you were Moody's pride and joy."

"I still _am_ Moody's pride and joy. Constant vigilance and all that jazz. But anyways, when I became an Auror, he gave me a gift and said, 'I guess you'll be impressing me now, huh?' he was set to be Minister of Magic after my father, until…"

"Of course, I forgot, how stupid of me."

"No, my brother didn't die in the raid. I helped him fake his death and as soon as I can get the Malfoys under control, he's going to come out of hiding. Lucius was always such a petty little bitch and the return of my family to power isn't something he'll take well." Molly and Dany grinned at each other and Arthur nodded in agreement,

"That man is an absolute monster. I still can't believe that he isn't in Azkaban. Now, Sirius, if I recall correctly, you took Muggle studies at school. I have a couple of Muggle things in my shed and was wondering if you could go take a look at them."

"Arthur Weasley! You will not take a guest—"

"Sure, lead the way, Arthur." The men left and only the women remained.

"You married him?" Molly asked her softly,

"I did. We got married right out of school, only seventeen, the bloody fools we were. We were young and in love, not to mention there was a pretty good chance neither one of us would live to see twenty. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Then Lily and James were killed a year later and Sirius was arrested and I was left without my family. Don't get me wrong, I love him to the moon and back, but we should have waited until after the war. We wanted a family, kids, a house full of life, but we never wanted to have Harry full time. Not because we don't love him, we do, but it means Lily and James are gone."

"I should have waited to marry Arthur, too I was nineteen when I became pregnant with Charlie and we got married just before he was born. We should have been more careful, but we weren't. I remember when I found out, I was so scared, bringing a child into a wartime world. When I told Alice she was so excited, but I could tell she was nervous too. I remember what she told me to this day, 'this child will change everything. And always remember little Molly, you're the master of your fate.' At the time I was too hung up on the fact she just called me little to pay attention to the rest of it." Dany laughed at the last part.

"I'm sorry, it's not funny at all, it's just that the last part, she heard it from me…I never really knew she took that to heart. It's from a poem, 'Invictus' by William Ernest Henley. It's beautiful, actually."

"You know I never understood how you did it, living the way you did, with the publicity and the cameras, it always seemed enough to drive anyone mad. God, I can still remember when I saw Alice in a picture with you and Lily in some gossip paper at Diagon Alley, and the press when you started dating Sirius…"

"God, I'd forgotten about that actually. When that came out I thought I was going to lose my mind. Everyday it was 'The Last Masters and the Last Black: Will There be Wedding Bells?' or 'Danilynn Masters: The Victim of the Imperious Cruse' or, my personal favorite, 'Danilynn Black or Sirius Masters? Who Really Wears the Pants?' I think Sirius framed that one and put it in the Heads' Common for our Seventh Year. It was so ridiculous, I mean we'd go places and our faces would be plastered onto the front of the Daily Prophet! Never. Again." Molly laughed easily,

"Yeah, that's pretty horrific." Just then the door opened and Arthur and Sirius walked back in,

"Are we talking about the headlines when—"

"Yep."

"Did you tell her about the one—"

"I still think I wear the pants."

"I mean technically you're not wearing pants right now. And besides we all know you hate that phrase." Dany shrugged unapologetically,

"Sorry I don't feel the need to act like a man. Oh man, do you remember what I told Fudge when we were what? 16?" Sirius laughed and nodded,

"I'll never forget the look on his face." Molly and Arthur exchanged a look, curiously, "When we were kids, 16 or 17 at the latest, no it must have been 16 because your dad was Minister when it happened, Cornelius Fudge, our current Minister of Magic, was working just below Daniel in the Ministry, alongside Rhaegar and one day he got into an argument with Dany here and he told her something to the effect of 'don't be so bossy'." Dany laughed and took over the story,

"Well, I always hated the word and so I just stared back at him and right as Sirius, both my parents, and my brother walked into the room I just like bluntly said, 'I'm not bossy. I'm the boss'. And it has never gone away." The other three laughed and Molly and Arthur looked borderline amazed at the kind of audacity that Dany had possessed, even as a young girl. Arthur raised an eyebrow,

"You know I can't even imagine Bill saying that at his age." She shrugged at him,

"I don't know why I did. It was just the first thing that came to mind." Molly checked the time and called out,

"Boys! Ginny! Dinner!" Sirius and Dany looked at each other and raised an eyebrow at each other. Seconds later, feet came thundering down the stairs and all eight kids entered the kitchen and began jockeying around the table for food as Harry came to stand between where his godparents were situated, "Hey, you lot! We have guests, so can we all act like civil human beings for once?" the seven Weasley children stopped and all quietly sat down. Sirius sat to Dany's left and Harry to her right, with Ron on his other side. The others took seats around the table and Molly began to portion out the food on the table. Once she took her seat, everyone started eating and Percy said,

"Mrs. Black? What was your father like?" Dany looked up and at him and smiled. What had her father been like? He had been wonderful and kind, he danced in his socks with her on Saturday morning when she was a little girl and had threatened to sic Dementors on Sirius when they had started dating. But that wasn't what Percy wanted to know.

"He was a good man, and he always believed in the inherent goodness of mankind. I remember I would come home from school on break and tell him how things were going Dark even at Hogwarts and he'd sit me on his lap, even at 15 or 16, and say 'Dany, if we lose hope now, there is nothing to fight for. There is always hope, and there is always light. As long as our family lives, as long as the Masters line endures, there is always hope.' He was proud of his heritage, but never thought of anyone as beneath him, just different." Percy nodded thoughtfully and resumed eating. Ronnie asked,

"Your dad? My dad works with Muggle things. What did your dad do?" Dany answered quietly with a small smile at the young boy,

"I personally think that your dad's job is more fascinating than my dad's was. He was Minster of Magic." The youngest members of the family, including Ron, Ginny, Fred, and George, all stopped and looked at her like she had grown an extra head and Fred's spoon clattered onto his plate, "But that was a long time ago. I was barely seventeen when he was killed. He always said that it was too much paperwork, anyways. Speaking of which, what exactly do you do Arthur? I've never really understood your department, honestly." Arthur smiled at her and said,

"Well, during the war, I did mainly raid reparations, cursed Muggle objects. Nothing too complicated, that would go to the curse breakers on the Ministry's payroll. Now, it's mainly kids charming things like doorknobs to bite muggles hands, and the like." Sirius nodded, interested,

"Have you ever had to call in Law Enforcement?" Arthur nodded slowly, glancing at his kids, as if wondering if he wanted to tell this story in front of them,

"Once, about three years ago, we had to call them in, but never you all." He gestured to Dany and Sirius, "Although, from what Albus says, you two had quite the reputation during the war. Alastor Moody speaks quite highly of you both as well. Said that while the Potters had the highest capture rate in the entire department, you two had the highest—" Sirius coughed loudly and pointedly looked at the kids. Dany looked at Molly who confusedly looked back at her. Arthur glanced at the kids, who were eagerly listening to the adults' conversation, "…never mind." Bill noticed the silence and asked politely,

"Mr. and Mrs. Black, what do you both do?" Molly smiled approvingly at him and Dany relaxed as Sirius did the same next to her,

"Well, Sirius isn't doing much of anything at the present, but I'm assuming he's going to want to get back to work under Moody?" She glanced at her husband and he nodded.

"Moody? You don't mean Mad-Eye Moody, do you?" George asked eagerly,

"The very one," Sirius answered, "He's a lot more majestic in the newspaper, believe me. But if they'll take me, I'd like to go back to the Auror Department, work with Dany again. And I hear that Shacklebolt is a real up-and-comer." Dany nodded, thinking about her protégée,

"Got that right, but then again, he learned from the best." She joked as everyone finished eating. Molly stood to clean up the plates and Dany automatically stood to help her, "You want some help, Molly?" She smiled at the other woman and received a nod in return and a thankful look.

The women moved around the kitchen quietly for a few minutes until the Weasley matriarch broke the silence,

"Dany? What was Arthur talking about? If you don't mind me asking, of course." The silver-haired woman shrugged back at her,

"I don't mind much, it's just not the most, um, child-appropriate statistic. What he said about the Potters, Lily and James, was true. They were amazing at what they did; their capture rate was unparalleled. We probably would have been tied, or damn close, but well, the Death Eaters that Sirius and I came into contact with, well their longevity was severely shortened. The Potters captured Death Eaters, a sign of their mercy, their higher moral ground, I suppose. Sirius and I, on the other hand, we had the highest kill rate, which is nothing to be proud of, trust me. God knows how many souls we'll have to face someday. Lily and James actually fought for family and for all the things that people claim they fought for: love, hope, light, and so on, but Sirius and I, we fought for much less noble reasons: Anger, fear, hatred, mostly to protect each other and the Potters. We thought that if we killed a Death Eater, that was one less that couldn't hurt Lily or James or Remus or Frank or Alice. After all, you can escape Azkaban. You can't escape death."

"Lily and James answered to the call from Frank and Alice, didn't they?" Dany sighed and nodded slowly. She had been hoping that Molly would avoid this topic, but apparently not.

"They were. Bellatrix Lestrange is in Azkaban, where she will hopefully remain until she finally dies. You should know that Sirius and I were called when Fabian and Gideon were murdered. The deaths that the men that murdered them received were neither clean nor easy." Dany spoke in low tones, referencing Molly's brothers that had been killed in a raid about a month after Dany Masters had become Dany Black. Molly nodded slowly and took the younger girls hand.

"Thank you." She whispered as the rest of the group came in, kids included. Dany saw Molly furiously wipe her eyes and Sirius looked at her questioningly,

"Fabian and Gideon." Dany mouthed to him and he nodded as Molly silently approached him and gave him a hug, leaving the rest of the room wondering what exactly had happened between the two women. Molly released him and spoke to her husband quietly; too quiet for the kids to hear and he nodded to her and then nodded at the two other adults in what could only be called an understanding gratitude.

Molly sent them off with a large amount of leftovers and after repeatedly thanking her and Arthur; Dany, Sirius, and Harry left for home. One their walk down their driveway, Sirius asked Harry,

"So, Kiddo, how'd you like the Weasleys?" Harry smiled as he took both his Godparents hands.

"They're so much fun! Except for Percy. I don't think I like him much. Ginny's super nice and Ron is _so_ fun and he likes playing tag as much as I do. Fred and George are kind of hard to tell apart but they tell some funny jokes. And Bill and Charlie are _so_ cool. They know just about everything. Dany, Sirius? Am I going to go to Hogwarts? Because it sounds like a lot of fun." Dany and Sirius exchanged a look over their Godson's head. Sirius answered him with a grin that reminded his wife of the sixteen-year-old she fell in love with originally,

"Of course you are! And you're right, Hogwarts is lots of fun, but it's also a lot of work. Once you go there, you get a magic wand and can do magic like we do. Which reminds me, we need to talk to you about accidental magic." Dany caught on and began to give the talk that her parents had given her when she was a little girl,

"Harry, young witches and wizards sometimes do magic accidentally, before they get their wands, and you can't control it. So when something strange happens, like if all of a sudden your plush toys come to life, let someone know because we need to know if that's happening." Harry shifted uncomfortably under his Godmother's gaze, something that didn't go by unnoticed,

"Like a sweater shrinking to the size of a doll's sweater or making your hair grow back?" Both adults nodded,

"Harry…when did you do that?" Sirius asked,

"A couple years ago, I think. I really only remember Aunt Petunia trying to shove it over my head and every time she tried it just got smaller. There was also this other time she shaved my head and my hair was all back the next morning. And there was this other time that Dudley's first bike broke. But that might not have been me. He might have just been to fat for it." Sirius began to laugh and he continued to do so for a few minutes. The house was in sight by the time he stopped chuckling,

"Yeah, Harry that all sounds like accidental magic, except I don't know about that last one." Dany laughed at her husband's reaction. It was good to hear him laugh again.

"Harry, the main point here is that it's nothing to be afraid of and it's happened to all of us, but just let us know when it happens so we know and can keep track of it. The fact that you were already performing accidental magic at six tells us that you're going to be pretty stinking powerful," She grinned at him as the three of them opened the door to their home, "Now, how about Sirius gives you a bath and we'll get you into bed?" Sirius looked like he'd object but when Harry's back was turned Dany whispered to him conspiratorially, "Then you can do the same for me." His entre demeanor changed and she laughed as he carried Harry up the stairs towards the bathroom so quickly that she had to call out, "Don't drop him, Sirius! That would _not_ be a good way to start our parenting career!"

All she got was a knowing laugh in return.


	10. Where My Feet Touch My Shadow

**Disclaimer: Not mine, tragically, except for the plot and characters that you don't recognize**

**So this chapter is pretty long, to make up for my rather extensive absence, so here you guys go!**

**Read, Review, and Enjoy,**

**Stars.**

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><p><em>I want to be back on the ground<em>

_Where my feet touch my shadow_

_I want to dig my heels in the dirt_

_Feel it break between all of my toes_

_Take a breath_

_And push the anger down_

_Try to remember calmness_

_Big boys don't cry_

_They don't ask why_

~_The Driver_, Bastille

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><p>"Amelia, all we want is our Godson. His aunt and uncle abused him, and last time I checked, it's the Department of Magical Law Enforcement's job to protect every witch and wizard under the domain of the Ministry. I mean, I'm sure things have changed since I was in Azkaban, but not <em>that <em>much." Dany idly watched Sirius speak with Amelia Bones, a woman who had been a wonderful friend to both of them before the Potters' deaths and remained a companion to Dany while Sirius had been in jail. She could tell her husband was becoming more and more agitated as time ticked by, yet she refrained from interfering.

"Sirius…I understand, and I believe you, I really do. Unfortunately, neither the Wizengamot nor my department cannot go off of good faith alone. As a man trained to be an Auror, I'm sure you remember the legality issues we could all face. Of course, as your Godson is Harry Potter, things are moderately more complicated. No corners can be cut, no shortcuts made. Everything _must_ be perfectly legal, should someone contest the adoption, and _everything_ will be under public scrutiny. And while both you and Danilynn have mostly honorable reputations, there is still a stigma around you both, despite your release from Azkaban, Sirius." Dany watched Sirius' reaction closely for any kind of erratic emotion. When she found none, she asked her old friend quietly,

"What would be the first step in this 'perfectly legal' process?" Amelia rubbed her temples and closed her eyes from a moment.

"I would have to contact the Department for the Protection of Magical Children. Their head is Priscilla Dupont, who I'm sure will be more than happy to listen to you. She will want to talk to each of you individually, with Harry alone, and all three of you as a family. From there, she would make a decision on whether you both are good candidates for adoption. If she decides you are, she will come out to your home to inspect it, make sure it is child friendly and safe. If everything passes her exams, the decision will be made by her recommendation and by the Wizengamot during a hearing. If he was truly abused as you say, you may also choose to pursue legal recourse on that front as well. But let's not worry on that for now." Dany exchanged a look with Sirius, who looked back at her with a stony look in his eye that reminded her very much of the look Charlie Potter had worn when he had told the Blacks that as a matter of fact, no, they couldn't have their son back. The only thing that was said after that was Dany's lingering statement of,

"Make the call and leave the Wizengamot to me. We're getting our Godson."

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><p>"What do you mean they could take me back? You said I could stay with you!" Harry exclaimed. Dany sighed. Telling her Godson that they were going to the Ministry to <em>attempt<em> to get permanent custody of him was neither fun nor easy.

"Harry, I don't think they are, they have no reason to. But you have to understand that it _is _a possibility. Mr. Weasley is going to meet us there because we have to go talk to Ms. Dupont without you and he's going to sit with you when one of us can't. Then you'll go talk to her on your own. She'll probably ask you questions about us, about the Dursleys, about how you've been treated here. Then we'll all go talk to her together. Hey, but listen, Kiddo, nothing is being decided today. And most of all, you have to be 100% honest with Mrs. Dupont, okay? No matter how much you want to lie, don't. They could take you away from us if you do. It's okay to be scared, but try to calm down" Sirius walked into where Dany was talking to Harry, already dressed in a dress shirt and pants. Dany placed a kiss on her Godson's forehead and touched her husband's shoulder lightly as she said, "I need to go get dressed, I'll just be a minute. Then we'll Apparate in."

She got dressed quietly and looked at herself in the mirror. She wished more than anything that she didn't have to go to bat for custody of Harry. She wished more than almost anything that Lily and James were still here. She adjusted her dress one more time and returned to where Harry was sitting in Sirius' lap. They both looked up and Harry got up from Sirius' lap. Dany grasped Harry's hand in one of hers and she felt Sirius take her other hand. They disapparated with a crack. Seconds later, they appeared in the Atrium of the Ministry of Magic.

"Harry, hold onto my hand and Dany's. We don't need to lose you." Sirius moved to Harry's other side and took his free hand. "Where are we going?"

"Level two. Arthur said he'd meet us there." Together the three walked towards the lift. Once they were on, Dany said, "Love, why don't you pick him up? You remember how these things are." Sirius lifted Harry into his arms. "Harry? How you doing, Buddy?" He wiggled closer to his Godfather and Dany vaguely heard,

"This is the Ministry?"

"Yep. This is it. Don't worry, not all of it is as big as the Atrium. I'll tell you what, after we're done talking to Ms. Dupont, we'll go see," she lowered her voice to a whisper, "Mad-Eye Moody." Harry pulled his face away from his Godfather's shirt to look at her with big eyes,

"Really? Bill and Charlie said he's the best Auror there's ever been!" the Weasleys had become an integral part of their lives in the month that Sirius and Dany had had Harry. Sirius chuckled and remarked as the lift came to a halt,

"He'll love this." As the door opened Dany winked. Harry was put back on the ground and took both of his Godparents hands. Sirius stopped suddenly and pointed to a door, "this is it." He pushed it open to reveal a child-friendly room with toys on the ground and people milling around, some looking worried, some beside themselves with happiness. Before anyone had a chance to do something, Arthur waved the three of them over from where he was sitting in one of the grown-up sized chairs.

"Hello, you lot. Harry, call me crazy, but I do think you've grown another inch since I last saw you!" Harry stood up straighter and dropped his Godparents hands at this.

"I'm a big kid now!" Mr. Weasley smiled at him,

"You certainly are! I see some interesting looking toys over there, why don't you and Padfoot go check it out?" Sirius smiled at him thankfully as the boy was instantly distracted and relaxed,

"Come on, Harry." The two wondered off and Dany sat down next to Arthur.

"Thank you for coming, Arthur. It really means a lot to all of us. You and Molly have been beyond amazing over the past month."

"Please, don't worry about it. I can't imagine the kind of situation you two are in. You didn't have the nine months we did to prepare for our first. You all of a sudden had an eight-year-old boy to take care of. Parenthood is a big change." Dany watched Sirius entertain Harry with a couple of puffs of color from his wand and the various toys on the ground,

"It certainly is." Just then, a woman came out and said,

"Danilynn Black." The room went silent and stared. Harry immediately stopped playing with Sirius and as Dany went to follow the woman to the back room, ignoring the stares of the other people, Harry grabbed her leg.

"Don't go, Dany!" she leaned down to his eye level,

"Hey, Harry, we talked about this, remember? We all have to go talk to Ms. Dupont on our own, and then together. That's why Mr. Weasley is here, remember? It'll be okay. I'll be right back, I promise." She made eye contact with Sirius over Harry's head as he hugged her and said to the lady sternly,

"You make sure that she comes back, okay?" The woman, who Dany assumed was some sort of secretary, looked amused. Harry caught his Godmother's eye and added on, "Please." The woman smiled and said,

"Of course. She'll be right back. No more than half an hour, I promise, Harry. And nice manners." Harry relinquished his hold on Dany and Sirius scooped him up to go sit with Mr. Weasley and him. Dany followed to woman back to the rooms behind the door to the waiting room. Almost immediately the woman turned to face her and held out her hand,

"Lady Black, my name is Priscilla Dupont, and I'm the head of the Department for the Protection of Magical Children. It's a pleasure to meet you." Dany shook her hand, rather surprised, "You must be wondering why I came and got you personally. I do with some of the children to see how they react to the removal of one of the potential foster parents. He seems quite attached." They entered a room that looked like it was used exclusively for interviews. Dany took a seat and folded her hands in her lap.

"His Aunt and Uncle are less than kind people. He's met very few adults that have shown him any kind of respect or kindness. He's very close to the Weasleys, as well. We all are." Priscilla Dupont took her seat across from Dany,

"The Weasleys are a good family. Gosh, how many children do they have now?"

"Seven, I think. Bill, Charlie, Percy, the twins…so yes, seven. But we're not here to talk about the Weasleys, are we?"

"No, we're not. Tell me, Mrs. Black, you're an Auror, is that correct?"

"Danilynn or Dany, please. And I am. I have been since I was seventeen, about twelve years now."

"And, your husband, he was also an Auror?" Dany hesitated and answered carefully,

"He was, before the Potter's deaths. He plans to return once things have settled down with adopting Harry. Alastor Moody said he'd be more than happy to take him back."

"Speaking of Alastor Moody, he definitely had only good things to say about you. You father and brother certainly left big shoes for you at the Ministry, but from what he says, you fill them in your own way."

"I try, but I somehow feel like Rhaegar could find something to criticize. It was his job as an older brother." Dany lightly joked and the other woman smiled slightly.

"You certainly have quite the family line, Danilynn. However, as I was reviewing your work files, something was slightly disconcerting: before the fall of You-Know-Who, the amount of people that…well, um—"

"The number of people I killed?" Priscilla cleared her throat awkwardly as a confirmation,

"We were in a war, we were desperate and my friends and family were dropping like flies. You remember how it was; we were all scared. Look at the past seven or so years and you'll see a completely different pattern. War leads people to extremes." She nodded,

"I could hardly forget those times. The number of children whose parents were killed in the raids was unbelievable. Some of their stories still haunt me sometimes."

"Voldemort is gone now, it's over, and hopefully, a time like that will never come again." Dany said absently, even though she certainly did not believe that Voldemort was gone for good.

"You say his name."

"Of course I do. It's just a word. It holds no power and only makes one fear the object more than you would otherwise."

"I see. Do you enjoy having Harry?"

"I don't appreciate it when he draws on the walls, but he's Lily and James' son, our Godson. I love him, even when he draws on the walls. He's lived a life too hard for being only eight, well almost nine, and deserves the best home that he can be given. But that still doesn't give him free reign. He helps Sirius clean up dinner sometimes and I show him how to crack eggs and roll cookie dough. He's too young for much else, for now. Chores are rather pointless when you need constant parental supervision." Priscilla nodded as she wrote down something and stood up,

"Well, Danilynn, that will do it. Let's go get you back to your Godson before our thirty minutes is up, shall we? Speaking of which, he has remarkably good manners."

"That's the Lily in him. We try to encourage them, though. It's good for later in life." The two women reached the door and Dany walked back out only to be slammed into by Harry, who collided with her legs at maximum force. She laughed and pulled him off her legs to get a good look at his face, "You didn't bruise did, you? I'd rather my kneecap not give you a black eye." Sirius caught her eye and she shrugged slightly as if to say, 'it went alright, I guess'.

"Sirius Black." The entire room went quiet once more and Harry fearfully watched his Godfather leave. Priscilla said to Dany,

"I'll have someone call him back in in about fifteen minutes or so." She nodded and sat down with Arthur and Harry.

"How did it go?" Arthur asked,

"Alright, I suppose. She asked a lot about my job, and about the war. She apparently talked to Moody about me and went through my files. She asked a little about if I liked having Harry and a few other things." He nodded and Harry filled the silence with chatter about some silly game that Sirius had been playing with him while Dany had been in the back room. She would have continued it with him, but had no idea what it had been, and Harry was rather dismal at describing the premise to her, so she sat and spoke to Arthur and Harry, who occasionally would say something. About twenty minutes later, another woman came out and said in a bored voice,

"Harry—Harry Potter." Harry looked surprised, the woman looked marginally more interested at this, and Dany nodded at him encouragingly,

"Go ahead, Sweetheart. It'll be alright." Harry followed the woman warily and moments after the door swung shut, it opened back up to reveal Sirius. Dany glanced up from her conversation with Arthur as he sat down next to her.

"How'd it go?"

"Good, I think. She asked a lot about the war, she wanted a firsthand account of the Secret Keeper fiasco and wanted to know about how Harry is at home. I told her the truth: we were Aurors, we did a lot of killing because we were scared and that's what war does to people, and I told her everything about Peter and the whole mess. And of course I love having Harry around." Dany nodded and leaned against his arm, which he placed around her shoulder. Arthur smiled and said,

"It appears that you've got it under control and I best be getting back to work." He stood and Sirius and Dany stood too. Sirius shook his hand and said,

"Arthur, we can't repay you. Thanks, man." Dany hugged him lightly and the head of the Weasley family took his leave with a reassuring smile. The Blacks sat back down and both idly stared at the door Harry was behind. He was back there almost forty minutes, when a woman appeared once more and said,

"Sirius and Danilynn Black." They both stood and followed her to the same room, where Harry was sitting in a chair that looked much too big for him. Once he saw his Godparents, he ran up to them and Sirius scooped him up, being the only one strong enough to do so. He sat in a chair and Harry stubbornly refused to leave his lap. Dany took the chair next to them.

"So, now that I can finally speak to all three of you at the same time, I'd like to say how thoroughly impressed I am with the way you have all handled this. Sirius, Danilynn, neither of you had time to prepare for parenthood, but you have both handled it with as much grace as anyone could manage and Harry, it takes a very brave boy to come here and to talk to a stranger about your Aunt and Uncle Dursley. What they did was very, very wrong and if you three wish to pursue legal action, this department will stand behind you 100%. I think that you both would make wonderful parents to this boy. It appears that Lily and James Potter made a very good decision when they made you his Godparents." Dany relaxed and she saw Sirius visibly do the same, "Now, I will have to come out to look at your home to make sure it's adequate, if you're staying in one of the old Masters houses, I'm sure it will be more than satisfactory, and after that it's mainly formality." Both the adults nodded and Harry pulled on Dany's hair lightly, to get her attention. She looked down at him and said,

"Yes, sir?" He giggled and said,

"Does that mean I get to stay with you?" Dany looked at Priscilla, who nodded slightly in confirmation.

"Yep, you're ours now." Harry smiled a real smile, so big that it looked like it might just break his face into two pieces.

"Your stuck with us, Buddy, whether you like it or not." Harry laughed at Sirius' joking statement and Priscilla said,

"How about I drop by say, this Thursday at about noon?" Sirius nodded and said,

"Sounds good, Dan, are you working Thursday?" Dany thought for a second and said,

"I should be but I think Moody will be okay with me taking a personal day, if it's necessary that I be there."

"It's not absolutely vital, but it would be good for you to be there, so I can speak to both of you." Dany nodded and made a mental note to talk to Moody about it, "Now, I'll let you three go to enjoy this beautiful Monday afternoon. I'll see you Thursday, and I'll be in touch for your home address." The three of them said goodbye to Priscilla, left the Department for the Protection of Magical Children, and reentered the normal bustle of the Ministry. Sirius and Dany once more held onto Harry's hands and Harry said,

"Dany? Can we go see Mad-Eye Moody now?" Dany laughed and said,

"We sure can, if we can find him, just don't call him Mad-Eye to his face, okay?" Harry nodded and Dany led her husband and Godson down the hall of level two, and entered a set of double doors labeled, "Auror Department". There were people everywhere, men and women all chattering to one another, and they all carried a haunted look in their eyes. The first person to notice them was Kingsley Shacklebolt. He approached with a smile and Dany carefully handed Harry to Sirius.

"Masters. I thought you were taking the day off."

"I am, we're just stopping by on our way out," she gestured to Harry, "Child Services."

"Ah, well it's a good thing you're here. Simmons and Parker are just about ready to lose their jobs." She laughed,

"Those two are_ always_ about to lose their jobs, I swear." Kingsley laughed and said,

"Sirius Black. It's good to see you. You look better than the last time I saw you, man." Sirius shook his hand and laughed,

"Yeah, turns out the Ministry has some potion that's their contingency plan in case they chuck someone in jail accidentally. I hear you're Dany's protégée. She's not being too hard on you, is she? She can be a real drill sergeant."

"Hey! Harry, don't listen to your Godfather. Sirius give him to me." Kingsley laughed and answered as Harry was transferred to Dany's arms,

"She only gets on my case when I'm not doing my job right." Dany smiled and said,

"Don't sell yourself short, Shacklebolt, you're one of the best this Department's seen in years."

"Yeah, since you two and the Potters. And before you, Moody."

"My mom and dad?" Harry suddenly asked. Kingsley looked at him and smiled,

"Yeah, your mom and dad were some of the best Aurors ever. Some of the youngest, too. They were great people."

"Do my eyes deceive me? Is that Masters with a kid? Does this mean she actually has a heart? And in a dress? Do wonders ever cease?" Dany put Harry on the ground as she rolled her eyes and said dryly,

"Yeah, just not for either of you two. I hear you two just got fired."

"We were?"

"Not yet, but if you don't start doing your damn job and work like you're supposed to, that's next." Simmons and Parker both glared at Kingsley,

"You told her. I can't believe you told her." The other Auror just shrugged at them,

"We're not in school, you idiots. People could die if you don't do your job, so yeah, you're damn right I told her. Besides, would you rather Masters know, or Moody?"

"Speaking of, Masters, I hear you're not actually _Masters _anymore, hm? I hear that you're Danilynn Black." Dany rolled her eyes and said,

"I have been, you two, now get back to work before I reassign you under Moody. You think I'm a dictator? Please. You've never experienced anything quite like the regime of Alastor Moody." They both walked off and Kingsley laughed,

"Speaking of Moody, he's in his office. I'll see you later; I was just given the Pettigrew job. See you back to work tomorrow, Black."

"Hey, Shacklebolt! Can you hang onto Harry for a little bit? We need to talk to Moody." He winked and walked off with Harry, with a clap to his boss's shoulder. Sirius glanced at her,

"Um, who were they?"

"Who? The two guys? They work for me. Well, technically, we all work under Moody, and they work under me."

"So you're what? Second-in-command?" She shrugged,

"Sort of, I guess. Come on, let's go see Moody." Sirius and Harry followed her to an office door, which she knocked on.

"Huh? What?" She opened the door and poked her head in,

"Alastor? Can I come in, I have someone with me that you'll want to see."

"Oh, Masters, I mean, Black. Come on in," Dany motioned to her husband and the two of them walked in, "Sirius Black, boy is it good to see you."

"How have you been, Moody?"

"Good, I've been real good. What about you, Black? Ready to come back to work? Someone's gotta back up your wife's crazy ass."

"If you'll take me, I'd love to. I didn't realize that she's still such a loose cannon." Dany rolled her eyes and said,

"It's not that bad, you two."

"I'd say you wouldn't believe me, but you probably would. Shacklebolt can keep up most of the time, but she needs a partner as reckless and talented as she is. One with a little more field experience, too. And maybe you can finally smack some sense into Parker and Simmons. They won't listen to Danilynn worth a damn. I still think it's because she's a woman." Sirius raised an eyebrow at his wife, who shrugged,

"I think it's because I wiped the floor with them both during Hell Month." Sirius chuckled again and Dany vaguely remembered their Hell Month. It was the first month of Auror training and during that time period of four weeks, the already-initiated pushed the potentials to their absolute limits, physical and mental. Almost everyone hit his or her breaking point in some way, _almost_ everyone. The Blacks hadn't, and neither had the Potters, which had earned all four of them spots in Alastor Moody's hearts forever. Alastor Moody had been a close friend to Daniel Masters when he had been Minster and as such, considered the youngest of the family to be damn near family.

"That, you did, girl. Now, how about we talk about the logistics of bringing your husband back to work for us?"

"Alastor, he's my equal, that much, I won't bend on."

"Well, to be sure that he's still in form, we've got to put him back in the Sim with you." Dany raised an eyebrow at her husband, who shrugged slightly, "Follow me." They both followed him down to where the simulator was kept. Moody turned to them both and said, "You remember, the premise is simple: the scene will simulate a fight, a raid. No magic, hand-to-hand and knife work only. Stay alive for as long as possible. Go on, you two, and be warned, I'll be pushing you both hard. You better damn hope that you're as in sync as you were a decade ago. And Danilynn, go change, I'm not sending you in there in a dress." Dany rolled her eyes and left to go to her office to change her clothes into exercise clothes, a tank top and leggings. She returned a moment later, and they both walked in together, after handing their wands to Moody and Dany heard Sirius whisper to her,

"Please tell me that you've got a knife for me somewhere." Dany nodded slowly and pulled one from under the waistband of her pants and handed it him. She pulled another out and flipped it in her left hand.

"This is going to be a mass exhibition, the entire department's watching. Moody's going to try to freaking kill us, I hope you realize." Immediately as she said that, the scenery changed in the room and people were everywhere. Dany felt behind her and caught Sirius' arm. She felt him touch her waist on the other side and she ran though the lessons she had not only learned, but also taught.

One. Keep an eye on your partner, but a hand is better. Two. Don't get separated. Three. Go for the easy takedown, not the pretty one. Four. Survive. Five. No mercy. She took a deep breath and felt Sirius shift under her hand. The first Sim attacked and she allowed herself to get lost in the fight.

It seemed to last forever. Moody hadn't been kidding about pushing them both to their limits and even though both Dany and Sirius were highly skilled naturally and trained extensively, that didn't stop them from being punched in the face when distracted. The closest call was when Sirius had been distracted and one of the Sims had managed to disarm Dany and grab her as hostage. Sirius had hesitated for a split second before sending a knife, flipping end over end, straight into the Sims forehead. Dany was pretty sure that her shoulder was dislocated, if nothing was broken, and by the looks of it, Sirius had suffered some pretty bad head trauma.

"How long have we fucking been doing this?" He snarled to her as she wrestled with a Sim on the ground and managed to snap its neck with her knees.

"No clue. Must be close to an hour by now." She stabbed a Sim in the stomach with her knife and suddenly, it all stopped, the room changed back to its default appearance and they exchanged a look and cautiously stepped outside of the room, only to be met with the eyes of the entire Auror Department, leaving Dany wondering where they had left Harry.

"Shacklebolt, where did you put Harry?" he looked at her like she was nothing short of mad, but answered anyways.

"He's in your office, I give him a game that my sister loves and he's happy as can be. Jesus, you two, how are you not dead?" Sirius shrugged with a wince,

"I feel it, believe me. Damn, Moody, how long were we in there?" Alastor looked at him with one of his rare, genuine smiles that said, "I'm proud of you, kid",

"Almost two hours. Damn went and blew away the record." Sirius glanced at Dany and said,

"Well, who knew? And is your shoulder okay? It looks like it might be dislocated." Dany poked it experimentally and said,

"It probably is. Damn that hurts."

"I can set it, if you want." She shrugged, well tried to and he gently took her shoulder and probed the area sensitively, "On three…one…two—"crack. Apparently Sirius wasn't planning on waiting until three and snapped her shoulder back into place with a more practiced hand than what was probably considered normal. She groaned in pain and once he removed his hand she rolled her shoulder experimentally and found it responsive and no longer as painful.

"Thanks…how's your head?" she examined his face, looking for signs of concussion and found none, which was fortunate. Kingsley cleared his throat,

"Are we not going to discuss this at all? You both just destroyed the Sim."

"Man, I'd be bragging so hard, right now, if I was either of you two. That was killer." Parker exclaimed to the two older Aurors. Moody snapped at him,

"That's why they're better Aurors than you and Simmons. Because they don't brag. They get the job done. That's also why Sirius Black is going to be hired in as the partner to his wife, Danilynn, and you two are going to be answering to _both _of them now. Shacklebolt, you'll be with me on jobs, but Masters—er, Black will still be your mentor." He nodded and Sirius grinned at his wife,

"I guess we've still got it."

"Apparently…are you sure you don't want me to fix your head?" He laughed at that,

"There are some things you just can't fix, Babe." Dany rolled her eyes and said,

"Oh, yeah, yuck it up, Sirius. Alastor, can I have my wand?" Moody handed it to her and she tapped her husband on the head with it and he rubbed his forehead experimentally and nodded that it had worked, "Oh, and Moody, there's someone who really wants to meet you." Alastor nodded and followed the couple to Dany's office, where Harry was sitting in an armchair, playing with a presumably Muggle contraption, judging by the flashing lights. Harry put it down on her desk carefully and said,

"Dany! Padfoot! Where have you been?"

"We've been talking to Auror Moody. You want to meet him?" Harry nodded excitedly at his Godfather and Dany motioned out to her old mentor.

"Harry, this is Alastor Moody. Alastor, you know who this is."

"Spitting image of his old man, except for the eyes. Those aren't Potter eyes. Lord knows I've seen enough of that family to know."

"We know. It can be a little disorienting sometimes." Sirius admitted.

"Auror Moody? Bill and Charlie told me that you're the best Auror since forever." Harry said, trying to hide hid excitement from the man. Alastor raised an eyebrow at the other two adults and Dany mouthed 'Weasley' to him and he nodded,

"Well, that's awfully nice of them to say, Harry. Could you tell them thank you for me next time you see them?" Harry nodded, "How old are you now?"

"Eight, sir. But I'm turning nine in about two weeks!"

"You're getting to be Hogwarts age, then? He _is_ going to Hogwarts, isn't he?"

"He's got two more years at home." Sirius said, "Molly Weasley teaches him during the day with her seven. We let her use our house every other week. But then, of course he's going to Hogwarts."

"Good, I hear Snape is teaching there, now?"

"Potions Master, and from what I've heard from the older Weasley kids, he hasn't changed much since the war." Dany answered carefully.

"He doesn't strike me much as one to change. Harry, have you done accidental magic yet?"

"Yep! It started a couple years ago." He brightly answered. He had discovered that this was a big deal, after mentioning it in passing to the Weasley children and they had all been incredibly impressed.

"At six? That's impressive. When did you two start?"

"I technically started at four, but went on a two year dry streak until I was six after bringing my dinner to life one night…and Sirius you started when? Six, too?" Sirius nodded in confirmation,

"Yup. So he's right on time with both of us."

"Damn there must be something in the water because six is incredibly young to start accidental. The Longbottom's son, Neville, hasn't started yet, they're thinking he might be a squib."

"Alice and Frank's boy? I doubt it. They were both late bloomers, he'll grow into his own eventually." Sirius said, with a shrug.

"Alastor, why don't you drop by ours this Saturday for lunch? We're going to be having the Weasleys over anyways, and I'm sure Shacklebolt would come if we could catch him in a good mood." Dany asked him. The older Auror thought about it for a moment and nodded,

"I don't see why not. You still in your old place?"

"No, we're back up in Scotland, about two hours outside of Ottery St. Catchpole," He nodded again and Sirius caught Dany's eye and nodded towards Harry, whose eyes were starting to droop shut, "We best be going, looks like the little one is just about done for the day." Sirius picked up Harry and Dany held the door to her office open so they could exit and turned back for a moment to say, "One more thing, Alastor. I need to take Thursday off. Custody inspection at home. Is that alright?" He nodded and said,

"Just remind me before you both take off on Wednesday. Speaking of which, Sirius Black, I expect you here and ready to work, bright and early tomorrow morning, understood?"

"Uh…yes, sir."

"Good, well you three best be off. See you tomorrow morning." Dany and Sirius, who was still holding Harry, walked through the Auror Department and Dany noticed that people, especially the younger ones, were staring. She realized as she held the door to left Sirius and Harry out of the Department, that many of them had never actually seen her fight. Work that the Aurors participated in now, post-war, paled in comparison to how they had been forced to live and fight and kill, something that those who had joined up after Voldemort's fall never really realized. They had seen the youngest Masters arrest people and point her wand threateningly at people but they had never actually seen her, or anyone else, likely, stick a knife into someone's head or break a neck with her feet. They entered the lift back to the Atrium and she said to Sirius,

"They probably thought we were crazy, after they saw us fight."

"I mean you taught them, they couldn't have been _that_ surprised."

"Sirius…Aurors, we almost never kill anymore. It's a different world. I mean, sure, I taught them how to, in theory, but anyone there who joined up after the war never actually has. Honestly, I think a lot of them thought that I was in the position I'm in because of my family. They all think that I'm respected by people older than me because my dad was Minister."

"Yeah, they probably don't think that anymore. Dan, you're an amazing fighter and you don't get enough credit for it, not from the younger kids, clearly. I have a feeling that that just changed, though."

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><p><strong>The next chapter is coming sooner rather than later, and we get a look at just what happened the night Dany's parents were killed. Here's a sneak peak:<strong>

_She knocked the wand from his hand and before she could think too much about the fact that he probably had a family somewhere, she cut his throat._


	11. Things We Lost in the Fire

**Disclaimer: The usual...**

**So to say I have some sudden inspiration for this is an understatement. I've written over 10,000 words for this fic in under two days and other than the fact my hands are throbbing a little, I'm really happy with it.**

**Read, Review, and Enjoy,**

**Stars.**

**P.S. The long passage in italics is a memory**

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><p><em>These are the things, the things we lost<em>

_The are the things that we lost in the fire fire fire_

_Flames-they licked the walls_

_Tenderly they turned to dust all that I adore_

~_Things We Lost in the Fire_, Bastille

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><p>A month had passed since Sirius had gone back to work with Dany and he was quickly falling back into the rhythm of the Auror life. At the same time, Sirius, Dany, and Harry were falling into their own rhythm as a family. In the morning, Harry would be left with Molly Weasley and her children. Dany and Sirius would apparate into work and spend their work days answering calls that Law Enforcement just couldn't handle and Sirius took great joy in yelling at Parker and Simmons for not respecting his wife and for not doing their work ("You're lucky that this isn't ten years ago! Your sorry asses wouldn't have even made it into the Department!") Dany noticed that she received more respect than she had in years, since the war ended, ever since Moody had put her and Sirius in the simulator and she had started working with her husband again. When Sirius and Dany would pick Harry up at night, he would tell them about his lessons with Mrs. Weasley, or Aunt Molly as she was quickly becoming. Dany would make dinner while Sirius helped Harry with any homework and then the boys would do the dishes. Once the dishes were done, it was time for a shower and then Dany would read with Harry in bed for a bit. Needless to say that by the time the adults got to bed, they were exhausted.<p>

It was a Tuesday night when Dany decided to broach the subject of her brother. She hesitated for a second, awfully comfortable with where she was at the moment, in her bed, her head on her husband's chest, but nevertheless muttered,

"I'm going to write to my brother tomorrow." She felt the muscles in Sirius' arm that was around her momentarily clench.

"About what?"

"I think it's time for him to come home." Rhaegar was just about ready to lose his mind in the States, despite being a husband and father to two children. He missed his home and he desired to take up the mantle that their father had left behind, a mantle that Lucius Malfoy had made nearly impossible to access. Cornelius Fudge was Minister, but as everyone was well aware, he was inept at best and Dany had spent some time on weekends talking to the older members of the Wizengamot, friends of her father that remembered the days that the Masters family had presided over the Ministry. The general consensus was that Fudge was an idiot, but no one was willing to try to get him kicked out of office. Not that she could blame any of them; it was political suicide if it failed. However, many of them had agreed that they would be willing to back the family, should a competent heir come forward, for a place in the Minister's office and on the Wizengamot. At least half of the Wizengamot had agreed but she knew some would balk when the time came. Such was the way of politics.

"Why do you think that? Dan, we're just getting into a routine with Harry…" Dany propped herself up on an elbow to look her husband in the eye.

"I know but he's been chomping at the bit for years to come back home and I've been trying to keep him away from outing Fudge because if it failed I could forget trying to get you out of jail. But you're out and we have legal custody of Harry, I mean there's nothing that he can really do anymore…besides, there's not going to be some huge campaign to kick Fudge out of office. You need three quarters of the Wizengamot for that, and there's no way. But…more than half of them said that if a willing Masters came forward, they'd support him for a place in the Wizengamot and in the Minister's office." Sirius sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Yeah, that would maybe work if some long lost cousin stepped up, but Dan, your brother coming back, publically? That just isn't an heir to the name, that's like Lazarus rising combined with the return of the Prodigal Son. There's not going to be some quiet politics, the people are going to revolt. The average witch or wizard remembers your father and your grandfather fondly, and dislikes Fudge. He's done nothing to deserve it, and I think that's why people don't like him: he's done _nothing_. They want a new Minister and then the Golden Boy of your family returns from the dead? There will be unrest and you know it. Is that really what you want? I'm not trying to start a fight here, I just really want you to think about this."

Dany bit her lip and considered what he said. He was right. People didn't like Fudge, and it _was_ precisely because he had done nothing. He had passively allowed the Wizarding World to operate on its own, and after the strong leadership and reassuring presence of Daniel Masters, and Ethan Masters before him, it seemed like a hollow and dull mimicry of leadership. The bowler hat didn't really help his image either. If she was being honest, her brother, father, and grandfather were striking and rather imposing and Fudge just didn't seem to be, well, a leader.

"I want my brother back. I'm tired of being the lone orphan with the dead brother, and I'm tired of lying. I want my life back, and I want my big brother. If that starts riots in the streets, then you can say 'I told you so' and hold it over my head for the rest of my natural life." Sirius sighed and looked at her. For the first time since he had been let out of Azkaban he saw the pride of the Masters' blood she held in her heart. It drove him mad sometimes but she had every reason to be proud of her family. The people loved them. Daniel Masters had been a beacon of light in the war and his death, along with the death of wife Rhea, and the supposed death of Rhaegar, had hit the entirety of the Wizarding World hard. The general public had held vigils all over the country for weeks and Dany had received continuous letters from people mourning her loss, giving her their support, and sending their thoughts for months after her parents' deaths.

Sirius always thought that the public's love of the Masters family was a sore spot and a fear for Fudge. The Masters were notorious for being damn near incorruptible and of course, once Fudge came into office, snakes like Malfoy slowly but surely became more and more important. The people would demand a reinstatement of the dynasty that they had loved for so long, if Rhaegar came back. And Dany would be at the center of the whirlwind, at her brother's side, which meant that Sirius and Harry would be too. He wondered how Rhaegar's wife felt about this, bringing her children into a political move like this. He supposed she knew who she was marrying and was aware that eventually he would try to reclaim his father's position in the Ministry.

"If this is what you want Dan, I'm with you. But know that this isn't going to go away. The people will demand Fudge be removed from office. Ask yourself if you want this in history books." She nodded after a moment,

"I have no choice. Rae is my brother, and it's what he wants. He's going to do it whether I want him to or not. I might as well be with him. A house divided isn't any good. Besides, I know Harry is eager to meet Mason and Lynn. They're the same age as Harry, after all, give or take a few months. And Shay, his wife, is so sweet. Besides, heaven knows we could use someone else around to do some cooking a couple nights a week." She put her head back on his chest, signaling the end of the serious part of the discussion. Sirius agreed with her on the cooking part. Dany looked like she was being run ragged by the domestic house chores that she wasn't used to having to do.

"Have you thought about a House Elf?" She hummed noncommittally.

"Not really. I mean if my mom could do it with Rae _and _me I think I can handle Harry. Granted my dad helped with the cooking but he was bloody miserable at it so I can't really say if that helped or hindered the process." Sirius chuckled and realized that even though he had been doing the dishes, she had been cooking actual dinners for three people at least, seven nights a week, not to mention breakfast for Harry.

"Dan, do you mind if I make dinner a couple nights a week? I'm getting pretty sick of washing all those dishes, I've got to be honest." He felt her smile into his chest and he smiled towards the ceiling.

"Sure, it's all yours. I'll take dish duty from you those nights, how about that?"

"It's a deal. Now can we go to sleep? We have work tomorrow." She groaned and said,

"Yeah, I'd rather not think about it right now. And Sirius? I know you hate making dinner, so thanks."

"For what? I'm just sick of those dishes."

"Mhm. Just take the thank you."

"You're welcome Dan, now go to sleep."

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><p>Sirius and Dany woke up to a shattering sound down stairs in the middle of the same night. They pulled their wands out and went downstairs only to hear a gasp from down the hall towards Dany's office. They exchanged a look and went in to see Harry standing in the middle of the room with a broken vial in his hands,<p>

"I'm sorry—I just wanted to know what it was and it broke." Dany ran towards him, removed the vial but still looked horrified,

"We need to leave this room. Now. That was a vial of my memories, I have no idea what was in there. It's going to—" The room suddenly changed into her childhood bedroom, "—Project the memory. We can't leave until it's over."

"Dan, what is this?"

"This…this is the night my parents died."

_Dany woke up sweating in the July heat and with an uneasy feeling that there were a few too many people in her house. She pushed her sheets off her legs and picked her wand up off her bedside table slowly. She crept to her door and slipped out into the hallway and tried to move down the stairs, hoping that it was just her brother having a midnight snack that woke her. She made it less than halfway down the stairs when she saw the back of a hooded figure in the corner of her vision. Dany swore silently; even as a fresh graduate of Hogwarts, she knew what a Death Eater looked like. She moved back up the stairs and hoped to whatever gods there may be that the floorboards didn't squeak._

_She passed her own door, quite wishing that she could go back to bed, and walked farther down the hall and slipped into another room without bothering to knock. The room was a mirror of her own, except for the occupant of the bed was male. She quickly ran moved towards the bed and placed a hand over the mouth of her brother and whispered,_

"_Rae, Rae. Get up." One of Rhaegar Master's eyes opened and looked at his sister, "I'm going to move my hand but you have to whisper. Alright?" He nodded under her hand, sleepily. She removed her hand and he muttered,_

"_What the Hell could be so important at," he checked the time, "3 in the morning, Dan?"_

"_I woke up about five minutes ago to a bad feeling so I went downstairs and there are Death Eaters in the house." Her brother, at twenty, was stronger and more experienced than his sister. He sat up, fully awake now, and pulled his wand out from under his pillow._

"_Did you see how many? Are there any upstairs yet?"_

"_I saw the back of one's hood about halfway downstairs and I came back up before they saw me. There has to be more than one. No one would be stupid enough to send only one Death Eater to try to kill the bloody Minister of Magic. There aren't any up here as far as I know, but I haven't really been exploring, if you know what I mean." He nodded and, all business now, said_

"_We need to wake Mom and Dad, come on." He hastily crammed some things into a bag and grabbed a knife off of his desk and handed it to his sister, "You're probably going to need this." She took it and the siblings silently moved down the hallways of their home, brother in front of sister. They were almost to their parents' room when Dany turned around only to be face-to-face with a Death Eater. She gasped but reacted nevertheless. She knocked the wand from his hand and before she could think too much about the fact that he probably had a family somewhere, she cut his throat. Rhaegar looked at his sister with more than mild shock._

"_What? It's them or us, isn't it?" _

"_That it is, Little Sister, that it is." They continued uninterrupted to their parents room and before they could open the door, it opened from the inside to reveal their father already awake and looking rather angry that his house was being broken into by Death Eaters presently._

"_Come in, both of you, quickly." The siblings rushed into their parents' room and saw their mother, Rhea, was pulling her hair back and picking up her wand. She turned to see her children and she smiled tightly._

"_Thank goodness, you're both okay. How did you know that they were here?" Dany shrugged,_

"_I don't know, I just woke up and felt that something was just…off. So I woke up Rae." Their mother nodded at them both and put a knife in her boot._

"_Good, good. I'm glad to see you're both here. How many are there? Do you know?" Rae half-smiled and said,_

"_One less than there was when they broke in. Dany just cut one down outside your door." Both of their parents looked at their daughter and for the first time noticed that the knife in her hand wasn't clean, it was stained crimson._

"_Danilynn, you're too young to be killing people. But it appears that this is what our times have come to."_

"_Rhea, dear, can we save this for another time? We're a little short on time, I do believe," Daniel muttered to his wife. She threw a glare at him but there was no menace behind it. The Minister took his children and said, "Listen, both of you. It is imperative that you survive, do you understand? They aren't just here for me; they are here to extinguish our bloodline. You both must carry on. I want you both to leave. Leave now. Take the back exit. Danilynn, you can continue your life here, but Rhaegar, I fear your life in England is ending, at least until Voldemort is no longer a threat."_

"_Dad, I can't just leave, our people—"_

"_Yes, they need us, but they need us alive. Your sister will not have children bearing our name, the way it's shaking out her children will be Sirius'; they will be the heirs to the House of Black, which is undesirable to them. Undesirable, but permissible. There can be no more children with the Masters name. We are threat to them. We have been in power at the Ministry as long as the Ministry has been in existence. Someone must take up the mantle. As long as we live, there is hope for our people. Go, both of you." Dany hugged both of her parents and Rhaegar hugged them after and then nodded solemnly at his father, with an understanding that only father and son can share. _

_The family left together and almost immediately ran into six Death Eaters. Dany saw Rae grab one and break his neck and without thinking, she slipped under one of his arms and stabbed another, spun around and broke another's leg. Once he fell to the ground, she severed his spinal cord. She distantly saw her parents and brother take care of the rest of the Death Eaters and silence overtook the hallway again. Dany saw her mother looking at her like she didn't recognize her. Dany didn't know if she recognized herself. The four quietly moved down the hall towards the stairs and Daniel motioned for his children to go out the back door. Rhaegar shook his head violently, only for his father to nod forcefully back. Their mother kissed them both on the foreheads and smiled a little. The children watched as their parents walked towards the front of the house. Suddenly, a shattering noise broke the deathly silence in the house. Dany nodded at her brother and they headed for the back door as quickly as they could. There was a sudden shout of,_

"_I've got the parents! Someone find the brats! The Dark Lord doesn't care about the girl, kill the boy." Dany looked frantically at her brother,_

"_Go, Rae. Go far away. I'll take care of them and fake your death. Go somewhere, anywhere. I'll send word once Voldemort isn't in power."_

"_Dan—"_

"_Go." He hesitated before handing her another knife and said with a smile,_

"_It's your turn to impress me, Little Sister. See you soon." He kissed her on the forehead and he vanished from view. With that in mind, she did the exact opposite of her parents' wishes and moved deeper into her home and started to search out a relatively young Death Eater. It didn't take her long._

"_Looking for me?" she sweetly said. The man turned around, he seemed to be no more than 25, and tried to stun her but she, for the first time in her life, muttered,_

"_Avada Kedavra." The man dropped over dead and she approached his body and said, "Incendio." The body caught on fire and she slowly watched it spread down the wood floors and start to lick the walls of her childhood home. She waited a moment longer to make sure that the body of the Death Eater was truly unrecognizable and then she started to make her way towards the door, occasionally lighting fire to something that could catch and spread to other parts of the house. She grabbed her cloak on the way out of the house and put it on as she left. It might be her family's colors of light blue and white, and the fact it was silk would be a dead giveaway that she wasn't an ordinary person, but at least her silver-white hair wasn't visible with the hood up._

_She made it as far away from the house as she could without looking back. Once she did, the house was ablaze and the Dark Mark was high in the sky. No one would make it out alive; tonight had been a massacre. She kept walking until she knew she would be out of the range of the wards that should have been in place and just before she disapperated, she saw three Death Eaters had made it out alive. She froze. No one could make it out alive; everyone had to think that Rhaegar had died tonight. Before she could decide what to do, they decided for her. The man in the middle spoke, recognizing her, knowing there was only one place she could have come from,_

"_It's the littlest Masters! Little orphan Masters, all alone in the world. If it makes you feel any better, Mommy and Big Brother got quick deaths. Two quick deaths. Daddy, not so much. He suffered. I would know, I killed him, after all, he begged to his baby girl just one more time. It appears he'll be getting his wish, just not in this world." Dany slipped her hand back to her wand and slowly moved it out of her pocket. Then quickly, with two flashes of green light, the two men on both dropped to the ground, dead. The Death Eater, for the first time looked fearful of the woman in front of him. She pulled her hood off and put her wand away. "What in the bloody—" before he could finish his sentence she threw a knife directly into his stomach. She pulled her hood back up and on her way by him whispered,_

"_Two quick deaths," Into his ear. With a crack she vanished, leaving the man bleeding into the dirt._

_Danilynn Masters knocked on the Potter's door moments later. Charlie and Dorea Potter opened the door and she looked them directly in the eye and said,_

"_My parents and brother are dead. The Minister of Magic is dead." Dorea placed a hand over her mouth and Charlie pulled her into the house and into a hug. Two voices rang down from the stairs,_

"_Dad? Who could possibly be visiting at 4 in the morning?"_

"_Seriously Charlie, we're trying to sleep up here." Footsteps followed the voices and it was James who came down first in boxers and a t-shirt. Sirius followed behind, dressed similarly._

_She pulled back from Charlie's embrace, who dropped his arms and placed an arm around his wife instead, who was crying. She finally pulled off the hood of her cloak and she turned to look at her boyfriend and Lily's fiancé,_

"_Dany? Dan, what the Hell are you doing here? Why are you hugging my dad?" James said half-nervously half-frantically. She could feel the blood dripping from a cut on her cheek that she didn't remember getting and she knew there was blood all over her hands that wasn't hers. The blood of others had dyed the tips of her silver hair pink. She looked like she had been dragged through Hell and back, she was sure._

"_My parents and Rhaegar are dead." James, who reacted similarly to his mom, leaned against a wall to support himself. Sirius hugged his girlfriend and she whispered into his chest, "They're gone, they're gone." She let out a single sob and he rested his chin on top of her head and rubbed her back,_

"_I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry for your loss, love."_

The memory ended and Harry, at nine-years-old, looked rather horrified but also like he had just seen the world's coolest action movie. Sirius just looked sickened at what had brought his now-wife, then-girlfriend, to the Potter's all those years ago.

"Write your brother. We need a leader. Your parents gave their lives to protect you both, and it's time he fulfill his end of the bargain." Dany nodded and found a piece of parchment.

_Rae,_

_Now's a good of time as any. Fudge is a dingbat and I've just about had it. Get the wife and kids together and come home. _

_Dany_

_P.S. I miss you and I'm enjoying vacation very much_

Before she could stop herself, she attached it to the leg of her owl and sent it flying off to her brother, off to wherever he decided to call home for the past decade.


	12. Raise 'em on Rhythm and Blues

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognize isn't mine, etc etc**

**SO guys this isn't just a massive chapter, it's really important! So check it out and get ready for some big changes in the cute little family life of Harry, Sirius, and Dany for a little while.**

**Read, review, and enjoy,**

**Stars.**

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><p><em>She's gonna save me,<em>  
><em>Call me "baby, "<em>  
><em>Run her hands through my hair<em>  
><em>She'll know me crazy,<em>  
><em>Soothe me daily<em>  
><em>Better yet she wouldn't care<em>  
><em>We'll steal her Lexus,<em>  
><em>Be detectives,<em>  
><em>Ride round picking up clues<em>  
><em>We'll name our children<em>  
><em>Jackie and Wilson,<em>  
><em>Raise 'em on rhythm and blues.<em>

~_Jackie and Wilson_, Hozier

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><p>Despite the growing anxiety around Rhaegar's presumably unannounced arrival, Harry was becoming more and more eager to meet Dany's brother, sister-in-law, niece, and nephew. He could tell Dany was looking forward to seeing her brother again, but Sirius was looking less and less thrilled by the day.<p>

"Mrs. Weasley?" Harry was at his daily lessons with the Weasley family and he couldn't quite shake the feeling that his Godparents were being pulled apart by the impending arrival of Dany's brother. The mother of the family turned to look at him kindly,

"Yes, Harry? Do you need help with your multiplying?" Harry shook his head and told her,

"No, I understand it…I was just wondering, Dany and Sirius seem upset with each other lately. Do they not love each other anymore?" Mrs. Weasley sat down next to him and said,

"Harry…your Godparents love each other very much, they always have. But everyone fights with the people they love. But I suppose that is a testament to how much they love each other; that they always manage to make up. Why do you think they're angry at each other?" Harry had been waiting for her to ask and he had been dying to tell her.

"Because Dany's brother is coming home for good, and he's going to be staying with us. But Sirius thinks it's a bad idea. They try really hard to hide it, but they argue about it and the more Dany wants her brother home, the more Sirius wants to keep him away." Mrs. Weasley looked at him curiously,

"Rhaegar is coming home? My, that will cause a scandal. I might just re-subscribe to the Prophet just to see the headlines. And Harry, you have to understand that Dany loves her brother very much, imagine how sad Ron would be if he didn't see his brothers or sister for longer than you've been alive. She wants him back more than almost anything in the world, now that she has you and Sirius. But you have to understand that when he returns, it will be a big affair. Sirius probably wants to keep you all out of the public eye as much as possible and Rhaegar returning will put you all under scrutiny. Does that make sense? But no matter what happens, they love you very much, and they will never stop loving each other. Now, let's get on to History, alright? Boys! Ginny! Come down for your lessons!" Fred, George, Ron, and Ginny came in from different rooms where they had been working on different lessons. Molly Weasley had education down to a science.

The four Weasley children and Harry gathered around Mrs. Weasley as she pulled out a history book. All five immediately groaned. History was the most dreaded lesson of all.

"Oh hush, all of you. This one is interesting, especially because it's about a family that you know." Harry looked at her curiously and she smiled at him slyly. All of the kids scooted a little closer and one of the twins said,

"Mum, if this is the Weasley family history again, I'm going to claw my ears off." The others laughed but all agreed. They must have heard the history of the Weasley family five times since Harry joined them alone.

"No, George this isn't your family, which I'm sorry you find so tragically boring. Today, we're going to learn about the Masters family." She patted the heavy book with a smile.

"Dany's family?" Ron asked curiously,

"Yes, Ron, Dany's family. As a matter of fact, this entire book is about them. Well the noteworthy members, which is practically all of them. _Now _are you all interested?" All of the kids nodded eagerly and Ron and Harry, who had become fast friends, exchanged a look that said it was very cool to know people in history books, "So, how about we start at the beginning?"

"The beginning of what?" Ginny asked,

"Well, I suppose that would be two things: the beginning of the known Masters genealogy and the beginning of the Ministry of Magic." The kids immediately started whispering. This was by far already the best history lesson ever, "Well, The first record we have of anyone by the name Masters was…" she flipped through the book, "Charles Masters, the first elected Minister of Magic. And of course, as you might have heard Dany say when she, Sirius, and Harry were over for dinner, her family has held the position of Minister ever since."

"That's so cool!" Ron exclaimed and Harry nodded silently. Dany had kept most of this from him, telling him vaguely that her brother had been an up-and-comer in the Ministry when he had fled to the States and no more. She had never said that he had been set to be Minister.

"Of course, that is only the men, and that is only one line of the family. The women are nothing to laugh at, just take a look at Danilynn, and there are offshoots of the family, or rather there were before the war. There was a branch of the family that worked with dragons. One of the women almost 200 years ago was said to be so close to the dragons that some thought that she could breathe fire herself." The boys all exchanged looks that said that breathing fire was officially one of the best things ever and Ginny looked interested in the story that her mother was spinning. "There have been curse breakers, bankers, wandmakers, Law Enforcement, Unspeakables, countless members of the family have sat on the Wizengamot, and nearly 20 of them throughout history have been given Orders of Merlin. And of course, there have been Aurors, as Dany is now. However, for all these remarkable feats, there is illness too. Anxiety, depression, and in some places, even bipolar ran rampant. Throughout history, they have been known for their fast-burn tempers, their alignment with law and order, and of course their hair. And until recently, there has been only one living Masters left: Danilynn Charlotte Black. But now, it appears that there are three more blood Masters, bearing the name of their ancestors."

"There is indeed. Who told you, Molly?" All five kids and Mrs. Weasley turned to see Dany in the doorway, with Sirius standing behind her, looking amused. The children all looked back at Mrs. Weasley, who was trying to gauge Dany's reaction at hearing her family history told to children. A mild rendition, but nevertheless. The younger woman appeared not to be angry so she smiled and said,

"Your little one couldn't quite keep it quiet, I'm sorry to say. If you want to keep a secret, you have to make it abundantly clear that it is in fact, a secret." Dany laughed and said,

"Yeah…we're still getting a handle on this whole parenting thing, right Harry?" Harry shook his head,

"You guys are great. I'm sorry. I didn't know it was a secret." Sirius finally entered the room,

"It's okay you told the Weasleys, but they're family, and family has different rules than everyone else. Just don't tell anyone else, alright?" Harry nodded silently and Sirius picked him up pretty easily. Dany smiled at the other woman and said kindly,

"Thank you for keeping him, Molly. I don't know what we'd do with out you and Arthur." Mrs. Weasley waved her off,

"Please, you're family, your husband just said it himself. Now get on home, you three. Oh, and Danilynn? When this brother of your comes into town, I want to meet him." Dany smiled slightly and said,

"We'll have you over for dinner one night. We still don't know when he's coming, so I'll let you know." Harry felt Sirius' arms tighten slightly around him. Before Dany could leave, Mrs. Weasley grabbed her arm and whispered in her ear quickly. Dany pulled back to look at her, shocked and faintly shaking her head, "What? I…where did he…thank you. See you tomorrow, Molly." Harry saw Sirius wrinkle his eyebrows at the whispered words, but he said nothing about it. Dany and Sirius (who was still carrying Harry) silently walked out of the house and towards their home. Harry asked to be put down halfway there and walked between his Godparents. He noticed that every now and then Dany would look at Sirius, with unmistakable worry on her face. Sirius appeared to not notice, although Harry suspected that he was well aware, yet chose to say nothing.

Once they reached their home, Dany said quietly,

"Harry, why don't you clean up your room before dinner? I saw how big of a mess it is this morning."

"It's not messy!"

"It won't be messy the day I don't have eyes, Little Man. Go on, hustle." Harry walked off without much more protest and Sirius watched him go, curious about not only the divergence from the nightly pattern that they had all slipped into, but the quick whisper that Molly had murmured not half an hour ago. Dany looked at him, and as soon as Harry's door audibly closed, her eyes became sad, immensely and deeply saddened. It took him aback for a minute. They had been silently feuding over Rhaegar's return for almost a week now, but he still had no desire to see that look on her face.

"Dan…are you okay? You look like someone just killed your puppy."

"We need to talk." He nodded at the words that no one ever wants to hear and followed her into the living room, where she sat on the couch. Sirius sat down in an armchair across from her, wary of being within the reach of her arms in this mysterious conversation, not that he didn't trust her not to kill him, he just didn't feel like having a grapefruit sized bruise on his arm for a week.

"Are you sure you're alright? Because you really don't look it." She looked at him and threw her hands up in the air,

"No, Sirius, I'm not alright! I'm angry and I'm tired and I'm so afraid. But we've been fighting so much that I can't share any of that with you. What the hell are we doing?" He looked at her bloodshot eyes, shocked,

"Wow, what brought this on?" She slowly shook her head and put it in her hands,

"At the Weasley's, you want to know what Molly told me? What she whispered before we left?"

"Yeah…I guess." Sirius muttered. She looked up from her hands and there were tears leaking from her eyes and leaving trails down her cheeks. It was a rare sight and Sirius wanted to make the tears stop. They got under his skin and hurt him to watch. But for some unfathomable reason, he didn't move or say anything.

"Harry told her today that we've been fighting lately. He thinks we don't love each other anymore. Our own Godson thinks we don't love each other." The words were like a slap to the face. Some thing uncomfortably squeezed inside his chest. Had it been that bad? Had he been treating his own wife so poorly that Harry thought that they didn't love each other? She hadn't committed a capital crime; she just wanted her brother. But the publicity would be brutal and the unrest Rhaegar returning would bring would be unbelievable. He wanted to protect his family from that as much as possible. He moved to the couch, next to her, and touched her face. She looked at the ground, obviously agonizing.

"Dan…I just want to keep us safe. I'm sorry about this, I don't want to fight and God, I love you. More than you could ever know, which is probably why I've been dragging my heels. The last time Rhaegar was involved, you showed up at the Potters bloody and crying, an orphan. And I know it wasn't his fault, but I can't help but have some negative feelings." She looked at him, for the first time since they had been fighting he realized, in the eyes. That fact alone hurt a part of him.

"I know…it's just Rae is my family too, and I'm trying really hard to understand where you're coming from with this, but as much as I love you and Harry, I love my brother. He was my role model when I was growing up and there was nothing more in the world I wanted than to be like my big brother. To hear you hate him so much, it just hurts. Because I love you, I wouldn't have waited around eight years on a man I didn't love. But with me, comes my family and everything attached to it. I waited a really long time to make a life with you, but it's a two way street. You knew who you were marrying, Sirius. You don't just marry a Masters, you marry the whole family."

"Well I was under the impression that you were the only one left." Sirius muttered audibly. He realized his mistake too late.

"…If you had known about Rae then, if you had known he was still alive and in hiding, would you have married me?" Sirius opened his mouth to respond, "You know what? I don't want to know the answer to that and I can probably guess, anyways. Who would be stupid enough to tie themselves to this knowingly?"

"Dany—" But there was no stopping this. She was on a roll and the tears had stopped and turned into a dry anger.

"You know I spent my entire life being used by other people until I met you, Lily, and James. You know when we started dating, you almost got dumped so many times because I kept thinking 'what does he want from me?' but every time James would whack me over the head and tell me to stop being such an idiot. I couldn't believe that someone actually loved me for me, that I for once was being seen as a person and not a cog in the Minister's family unit. I was never allowed to be normal and you knew that! You knew that everything we did together would be in papers and would be gossip and you kept at it. Hell, _you _asked _me_ to get married, remember? I guess being the center of attention is only fun until it gets old, right?"

Sirius stared at her. Like really stared. This was unhealthy, all of this anger and distrust and anxiety was going to kill her. It had been what had kept them alive during the war, but it was time to let it go. The war was over, and this was not peacetime mentality. This was survival mode.

"Dany. No, you look at me, Danilynn. I am well aware of who you are and I know I asked you to marry me, and I don't regret it for a second, I don't. And believe it or not, if there had been a hundred of your relatives alive, I _still_ would have tried to marry you, because I loved you then, and I love you now. I'm just worried that Rhaegar coming back will put us all at risk. And forgive me for not really being in the mood to throw myself between you and a killing curse right now. I thought I'd never have to do that again, I thought we'd be safe. You may have a brother, but you and Harry are all I have left." Her eyes softened greatly and she gently touched his face, the pad of her thumb resting on his cheekbone. Sirius thought that this was a relatively positive sign.

"I'm sorry. I know you want peace, and so do I, believe me. But my brother has asked me to stand by him once more, and I want to. Can you at least understand why I'm doing what I am?"

"I understand, but it seems that Azkaban has made me exponentially more selfish. I like you right where you are, safe in a warded house, where I can see you." She laughed,

"As appealing as that sounds, you probably shouldn't have gotten with an Auror, if that was your dream."

"True…can you see where I'm coming from?"

"I do, and I know the publicity is horrible, and I'm sorry. But I can't stop the papers, and Fudge will encourage them to be even more incorrigible than usual when Rae comes back…I wish they didn't exist, but they do, and so we're going to have to make do. Besides, if they're going to run stories about us, we might as well give them interesting ones." He laughed at that, despite himself. She smiled a little and he relaxed; the fight was over and the storm had passed, at least for now.

"Hey Dan?"

"Yeah?"

"How about we do something totally normal and family-like tomorrow?" She smiled and wiped her eyes again,

"I think that sounds like a wonderful idea…what was that?" He listened for a minute and heard what she was talking about: voices. Voices that were far too close to be outside the wards. They exchanged a look and slowly moved towards the door, pulling out their wands.

"Lynn! Mason! What did your father say about that? They don't know we're here yet. You're going to get hexed if you keep this up." Sirius looked at his wife and realized that she had immediately relaxed as soon as the woman outside had spoken.

"But Mom…"

"Listen to your mother, Danilynn." Dany's eyes lit up and she threw the door open, all caution and wariness gone. Sirius followed her much less enthusiastically but couldn't help but smile a little as Danilynn Black hurled herself into the arms of her big brother for the first time in a very long time.

* * *

><p>Sirius slowly walked down the stairs from the porch and saw the three other people, a woman, girl, and boy, standing to the side of Rhaegar. He supposed that these were his wife and children. As the two grown siblings clung onto each other like they were drowning, Sirius smiled at the woman. She gratefully smiled back and said,<p>

"Hi, I'm sorry to barge in like this, but Rae insisted that we not reply in case the owl was intercepted. I'm Shay, and this is Lynn and Mason. I'm assuming you're Sirius?" He nodded at the woman who was technically his sister-in-law, "Say hi, kids." Both of them, Sirius realized had the silver hair of their father; perhaps it was the blonde hair of their mother that had allowed this to happen. Sirius doubted it; somehow that hair wormed its way past all semblance of logic or reason. Both of them resembled their father and their aunt; they were beautiful, even at the tender ages of eight and nine. The kids smiled and said,

"Hi."

"Hi yourselves. So I hear that you're Mason," He directed his attention to the boy, who nodded rather timidly, "And you're Danilynn? Am I right?" The girl nodded but smiled slightly and said,

"I go by Lynn. Which is good, I guess because Daddy says that our aunt goes by Dany. Is that her?" Sirius looked back over at where Dany and Rhaegar were now talking, and it struck him now, just as it had when they were seventeen, how much they looked alike. The hair, the brilliant blue eyes, and the faintly aristocratic features were all the same; the only difference that was truly different other than their genders was their heights. While Dany was small, only about 5 foot 2, 5 foot 3 on a good day, her brother was almost 6 foot 4, towering over most people.

"Yeah, that's her, alright…did the hair give it away? Shay, you'll have to tell me just how that hair happens, just by the way." The mother winked with a smirk, an unsaid promise to tell him just how his kids will end up with the silver mane that all Masters possessed, "You kids want to meet your Aunt Dany?" They both nodded hesitantly, but rather excitedly, "Alright, let's go meet her." He led the kids over to where Dany and Rhaegar were talking and it appeared that Dany was now being laughed at by her brother

"…Okay, in my defense, I wasn't aware that I was going to be doing parenting! And nothing has been _too much_ of a train wreck yet! I can only imagine the kinds of stunts you've pulled as a dad. Oh! I should go get Harry, he's been dying to meet you all." Sirius interrupted her monologue,

"Dan, before you go, there's a of couple people who want to meet you." She tuned to face him and looked down at the children that were trailing him and their mother. She leaned down and said,

"Hey, you two…I've waited a really long time to meet you both. I'm sorry it took such a long time. Can you forgive me and your dad for not hurrying up? It's mainly his fault, honestly." Rhaegar rolled his eyes,

"Everything is my fault in this family as it is, thank you for picking up the mantle, Dan." The kids laughed and both threw themselves into her arms. Mason said,

"It's good to meet you Aunt Dany. You might not have ever met us, but Dad always made sure we knew you."

"Yeah, I was even named after you!" Lynn chimed in and Dany smiled at them both and said rather shakily (Sirius was pretty sure she was trying not to cry at this point),

"Well, I have someone inside who is pretty eager to meet you two, so what do you say you go meet him?"

"Is it Harry? Daddy said that he was your Godson!" Lynn asked enthusiastically, something that seemed to run in the family. Sirius had always just assumed it was Dany and her brother that were easily excited, but apparently these apples hadn't fallen far from the tree at all. They all possessed the same contagious enthusiasm. Dany grinned at her niece,

"You bet it is. Come on, he's inside. Shay, I can show you to your rooms, on the way if you want." The other woman nodded gratefully and picked up the single suitcase that held all of the family's clothes (undetectable extension, Sirius suspected) and followed her sister-and-law into the house, along with her children, who seemed to be bouncing with happiness at gaining so many relatives at once.

Once the women and children vanished, Sirius looked at Rhaegar and tried really hard not to hate him for being here. The older man smiled tiredly,

"Sirius Black…damn I always knew it would be you and Dany. If my old man were alive, I'd be collecting money from a bet right now. I heard about Azkaban; Dan wrote me a few times about it. I'm sorry that that happened to you, really; you don't deserve to be in that poor excuse for a place. And I know you don't want us here, and I don't blame you. To say there's going to be a shit-storm would be an incredible understatement. Fudge and Malfoy won't take kindly to this, and if you want me gone, I'll leave your house. But know that I'm not leaving England. This is my home, and I have spent far too much of my life in hiding. I'm not asking you to like that I'm here, but can we not hate each other? I don't hate you, I'm actually grateful; you loved my sister when no one else did. We grew up around power leeches who wanted nothing more than to marry her for her money and her family. Then she met you and God you should have heard her talk about you. You saw her for her, so thank you because that's all I ever wanted for her." Sirius blinked. This was much more diplomatic than the Rhaegar he had known as a teenager.

"I don't want this trouble for her, for either of us or Harry, but there doesn't seem to be a way around it, does there? I don't hate you, I…it's just the last time you were in England, Dany showed up to the Potters bloody and an orphan. I don't want Harry to ever have to see that. I can't help but be a little hesitant to have you living with us…but you're family, and I hear that if you marry one Masters, you marry the whole family. Besides, it would be good to have a couple more adults around and Harry could certainly use a couple more kids his own age to play with. The Weasley's are great, but perhaps there's nothing quite like family."

"There is really nothing like family, indeed…How about we leave this as a work in progress? I'll do my best to keep a low profile, as long as you try not to hate me so much, at least for the kids' sake, and for Dan." Sirius smiled; had the guy become a bleeding diplomat in the past decade? "I've been a diplomat for _way _too long…no more fire in the belly, I suppose." Sirius actually laughed at that; he _had _actually been a diplomat. The two walked up the stairs and Sirius leaned on the railing, with a raised eyebrow, amused by the thought that any of the Masters could ever loose their fire,

"I seriously doubt that…if your sister is any indication, you all never lose the beast in your belly or the lion in your heart. Nothing will quite get you going like Fudge and Malfoy ruling over the Ministry; believe me. We're not even in that part of the Ministry and people are still pissed that fudge is so deep in Malfoy's pocket. Dan said that you're looking for a spot on the Wizengamot?" Rhaegar nodded at his brother-in-law,

"Yeah, I don't think campaigning to out Fudge would be a very good idea…talk about a civil war. I'd just like to come home, if that isn't too much to ask of the world. It probably is, but somehow things never go quite as planned anyways. My plans always tend to go to shit. I think it runs in the family, someone else we know was never good, either." Sirius chuckled,

"Really? Well that's certainly interesting…I bet there are all kinds of things you could share about my lovely wife's childhood, aren't there, Masters?" Rhaegar laughed,

"There are indeed, Black, there are indeed…I think this might be the beginning of some really humiliating times for Danilynn."

"It appears so, yes. She'll be thrilled."

"She'll be livid, but alas, its my job as her brother to embarrass her every chance I get. You two still Aurors?" Sirius nodded absently as the two watched nature pass by the front of the house,

"Yeah…Dany never stopped and I came back when I got out of the hole. Moody's just as much of a pain in the ass as he's always been, just by the way. He'll be bloody thrilled to see you again, I'll tell you that. I think having you _and_ Dany back is like his wet dream or something. I know how close he was to your dad…which I never got to say sorry for; Rhea and Daniel were good people, you two lost them too soon." Rhaegar nodded with a sad smile,

"They were, I always knew I'd have to spend the rest of my life trying to fill my dad's shoes, but I didn't realize then how impossible that is. He was a great Minister and a phenomenal father; I can never live up to that."

"Eh, you don't know, you might surprise yourself. I've definitely been doing that quite a lot lately; Harry was dumped on us and let's just leave it at 'baptism by fire'." Rhaegar laughed at that,

"At least you missed the diaper phase…unless you have little ones of your own, which between you and me, is totally worth it." Sirius was taken aback. Sure he had thought about a family when they had been kids, but he hadn't considered starting one now; they were so busy.

"It's kind of an inconvenient time right now. We have the training wheels on this bike, with no intention of taking them off anytime soon." Rhaegar laughed at that analogy that he thought seemed incredibly accurate to parenting,

"It's _always_ an inconvenient time, dude…it's never perfect timing to have your wife say 'Honey, I'm pregnant' but you just roll with it, I guess." Sirius went to respond about just _how _inconvenient it was when a feminine voice interrupted him,

"Aww, boys are you getting along out here?" Both Sirius and Rhaegar turned around to see Dany was leaned up against the doorframe into the house with a smile playing on the edges of her lips. Rhaegar answered easily,

"Sure, sure. Just giving my brother-in-law some tips for if you two ever decide to have some little crumb-snatchers and nose-pickers of your own." Dany raised an eyebrow at Sirius, who shrugged as if to say "what? He brought it up". She laughed and said,

"I honestly don't care what you two are talking about, as long as you're getting along. How about you boys come in? Shay offered to make dinner tonight, the kids are getting along famously, and neither of us has been off our feet all day. Besides, I'm sure you'd like to see the house again, Rae." Sirius smiled at her, when she looked at him, worried that there was some kind of conflict that she wasn't seeing. Oddly enough, there really wasn't.

The man Rhaegar was now was very much like his father, despite his protests that he would never grow into his father's shadow. Sirius had always liked Daniel Masters; he had been a kind man, a good father with a gentle heart, he loved his wife dearly, and was known for delivering justice swiftly and fairly. Rhaegar had been a hothead as a young man, all the raw material had been there to be a great leader, but occasionally his temper would become out of control and he would become erratic and dangerous. Like Dany's anger, it was what kept him alive during the war, but this was peacetime; it was time to put away the defense mechanisms, at least for now.

Sirius smiled nodded encouragingly at her and she seemed to relax slightly, warily half-believing that there was no huge feud between her husband and brother. But she wasn't an idiot, she would be watching for bad blood for weeks to come. Sirius walked into the house, taking Dany's hand on the way in, who allowed herself to be pulled through the house by her hand, laughing. Rhaegar followed them in, back into his childhood home, that he was relieved to see was back to being lived in and loved by his family.

The three walked into the kitchen to see Shay trying to teach Mason and Harry how to cook, as Lynn looked on from where she was perched on top of the counter, occasionally giggling at the boys inept movements. The young girl looked up when they walked in and smiled at all three of them, as a huge puff of flour exploded from between Harry and Mason, all over Shay and Lynn. Lynn erupted into loud laughter that reminded Sirius of what Dany had sounded had like during the Great Hogwarts Food Fight of 1976.

"Mason Daniel! Harry James! What did I say about the flour?"

"…Not to touch it." They both muttered, looking very much like they had been caught with their hands in the proverbial cookie jar,

"Not to touch it. And did you touch it?" both boys nodded, now covered in the powdery white substance, "You did indeed. Mason…you are so lucky that I haven't picked a timeout corner in this house yet. Dan, Sirius, I don't know what you do about Harry misbehaving, so that's up to you." Mason looked rather fearful of the timeout corner and went to go stand by his dad, who looked rather amused by the entire thing. Dany and Sirius exchanged a look; Harry didn't usually ever misbehave. They didn't have rules because it _never _happened. Dany shrugged,

"You're off the hook tonight Harry, just because it's a special night. You have to listen to Shay and Rae like you listen to us, alright?" He nodded quickly and muttered,

"Sorry, Dany. We didn't mean to, it was just an accident." Dany kissed him on the forehead and said,

"I know, but you have to listen to the adults, especially in the kitchen. We don't need you accidentally sticking your hand in a pot of hot water. Just don't do it again. Sirius do you have anything to add?" He shook his head,

"No, she's right though. The Kitchen can be a dangerous place, not to mention a messy one. If we weren't magic, someone would have to clean that all up by hand, and that wouldn't be very fair, would it?" Harry shook his head, feeling quite guilty,

"No…I didn't think about that, honest Padfoot. I'll clean it up on my own if you want." Sirius looked at Dany with a raised eyebrow and she shook her head: not tonight.

"Well, it's awfully nice that you offered but how about we just picked it up real fast and got on with the night?" He nodded at them both and hugged them each and Dany flicked her wand and the flour that coated half of their kitchen vanished into thin air. Dany smiled and said, "Why don't you kids go play in Harry's room, where you can't get flour over half of the house?" The three of them nodded, leaving the adults alone. Shay put something in the oven and joined the other three at the kitchen table. She said,

"Where did that apology come from?" Dany and Sirius exchanged a look that said they weren't quite sure. Dany spoke slowly, trying to come up with an answer, because honestly neither of them was quite sure why he had offered to clean up the house.

"That was the Lily in him I think, she was my best friend in school and Harry's mom. I honestly don't think James knew how to say 'sorry' on the day he died, so Lord knows it's not James' outstanding manners and remorseful nature. That sounded much more like Lils." Rhaegar nodded,

"I remember Lily, she was a sweet girl, very gracious and gentle. She was kind of a spitfire but all of you girls were; I was sorry to hear what happened to her and James. At least Harry survived; if they could see us all now, I'm sure that would be some kind of consolation." Sirius and Dany both smiled at him, sadly. They both still missed their dear friends; their loss had left hole in both of the Blacks' hearts that neither of them had quite managed to fill. Dany doubted that their deaths will ever seem like a distant memory, even now it seemed like yesterday that Lily and James Potter had died.

"Thank you. But I don't think that their deaths will ever not hurt…for us or for Harry. It was just too bad of a time, and right after Marlene, Alice, and Frank…and then Sirius was arrested and Harry was sent off to his Muggle relatives; sometimes I think that it's a miracle that I made it through that year and a half at all." Dany said quietly. Her brother nodded sadly,

"Whatever did happen to the Longbottoms? I never saw them in the American obituaries, and the deaths of Aurors usually makes it over the pond." Sirius and Dany exchanged a dark look and Dany answered her brother heavily,

"Honestly, they would have been better off dead, if you ask me. One night Bellatrix Lestrange broke into their house, their son, Neville, was only about six months old at the time. We don't know why she was there really, probably because they were Aurors and she was bored. No matter the reason, the used the Cruciatus curse on them, until they were driven to insanity. That was on the tail of the deaths of Fabian and Gideon Prewett, and needless to say, the last sibling, Molly, took the loss of her sister very hard. Actually, Molly is married to Arthur Weasley now, do you remember him from school? I think he was a few years older than you. But anyways, they're our good friends now; they live just a few miles away from us and Harry loves their children. All seven of their children." Dany added the last part with a wry smile. Shay and Rhaegar both looked amazed,

"How on Earth does one raise seven children?" Shay asked, rather like how one asked how the Earth spun,

"She's a force to be reckoned with, believe me. You have not seen a tightly run ship until you have seen the house of Molly Weasley," Sirius laughed "Besides, it's not as bad as it sounds, the oldest three are already in Hogwarts so she's only got four little ones under her feet. Arthur works at the Ministry, and even if they didn't need the money I think he still would, just to get out of the house." Rhaegar laughed and nodded,

"Sometimes I thought about quitting back in the States, Heaven knows we don't need the money, but Shay would always tell me that I'd regret it. I have a sincere feeling that she was absolutely right. Diplomacy wasn't for me, but at least it gave me something to do that wasn't changing diapers. I understand his struggle; living with seven kids? You can forget it." Dany's eyes lit up,

"Oh! Molly meant for me to tell you that she's quite insistent upon meeting you all; would you and the kids be open to dinner with them tomorrow night? At this point it appears that we'll probably be taking the day off anyways, so it really wouldn't be any trouble." Rhaegar looked at his wife and smiled hopefully, but Shay seemed more hesitant,

"That sounds wonderful, it will be nice to get to know people…but you said Arthur works—"

"In the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Department; a two person department, him being one of them. I don't think you have to worry about him ratting on you to Fudge. No one will say anything until you're ready, Rhaegar." Sirius chuckled. Out of all of the workers in the Ministry, he suspected Arthur Weasley the least of ever willingly sharing information with Cornelius Fudge. To say the Weasleys weren't big fans of the current Minster was the understatement of the century. Shay relented,

"Alright, I'm sure they're wonderful people. Besides, it will be good for the kids to meet some other kids their age, before they go to Hogwarts." Dany grinned and said,

"Excellent, I'll go send an owl to Molly after dinner," As the timer beeped suddenly. Shay got up and pulled a wonderful looking roast from the oven, along with a couple loaves of bread (Dany supposed this is where the flour had come from), "I'll also have to write Moody to tell him that we're not coming in tomorrow. He might actually drop by when he finds out why. He'll be thrilled to see you Rae, I'm telling you." Sirius nodded in confirmation that at this point, they couldn't go into work tomorrow. And she was right about Moody; "thrilled" would be putting mildly. The old man never shut up about the days of the "Masters' Dynasty," as he fondly called it, and how great and prosperous the Wizarding community had been under the leadership of one of Britain's oldest families. Sirius had almost told him that Rhaegar was alive purely to shut him up on at least three separate occasions. His wife had been less than impressed with this.

"Ah, Alastor Moody, he and Dad certainly were close. I never understood how someone as eloquent and, well, polished as Dad could get along so well with someone so gruff. Maybe it was refreshing to hear someone bark the truth at you, for once." Rhaegar laughed and Dany chuckled in agreement. Their mother had tried to be as nice as possible when delivering the truth, and outside of her and their children, no one ever really told Daniel Masters the whole truth, at least the ugly ones. Except Alastor Moody, who had no qualms about offending the Minister and telling him, "pull your head out of your ass, you have a damn country to lead Masters. If I die on the job just for your ass to let our world go to shit; I _will _haunt you until the end of your days". Ah, yes Alastor Moody was a good friend, Dany thought fondly of her mentor. Shay checked something on the oven and then called out,

"Harry! Lynn! Mason! Dinner!" Three sets of feet came down the stairs a minute later, and then all three of them appeared in the Kitchen, looking very excited at the prospect of living together (apparently they had all decided that all family was awesome and they had a lot of time to make up for). Harry came bounding up to his Godparents and was practically glowing,

"Dany! You have such a cool niece and nephew. Dudley was definitely not this cool. He was a big, old, fat bully." Sirius snorted loudly and Rae laughed, something he tried to turn into a cough under his wife's gaze. Dany's lips twitched in amusement too. She picked up her Godson and put him in her lap,

"Harry, I understand that Dudley wasn't very, erm, _nice_. But I don't suggest calling people 'big, old, fat bullies'. And if you must, at least not to their faces." Shay looked mortified at this advice and Sirius and her brother roared with laughter, no longer trying to hide their amusement; they were now grasping at each other's shoulders to stay halfway upright. The other two kids laughed at the comment.

"Danilynn! I don't know how good of advice that is…" Shay said worriedly. Dany shrugged and answered,

"He's going to do it anyways, if either of his parents are any indication. He might as well not get his pounded in." Rae and Sirius continued to snicker at the entire situation.

"Well…he's your kid. Come on, you lot. Let's eat." Everyone scrambled around the circular kitchen table with Harry between his Godparents. Apparently as much as he liked his newfound relations, he was still wary. They all started eating and Dany looked like she was going to cry, this was the first meal she hadn't made in a very long time that wasn't Sirius' quasi-subsistence meals. As hard as he tried, he apparently missed some lessons on how to cook in a way that was more than for survival. Needless to say, the nights Dany cooked were highly anticipated by all parties involved.

"Shay, this is amazing. And the best part is I didn't make it." Dany joked. The other woman laughed,

"I know that feeling, sister. Rae tries, but he just doesn't know how to make food taste good. It's not his fault, really, I think he just…well it's not his strong point."

"Hey! It's not that bad!" Rhaegar exclaimed, rather indignantly.

"It's true, Daddy. Your cooking isn't very good." Lynn said smartly and Mason nodded in agreement,

"It's actually quite horrible, if we're being honest. Sorry, Dad." Dany, Harry, and Sirius all laughed but then Dany looked at Sirius wryly with a small smile,

"I don't know what you're laughing about Sirius Orion Black; your cooking is less than glorious."

"Well, I'm sorry I offered to help you." Dany grinned and said,

"That's a lot of talk from a man whose initials are in-fact, SOB." Shay and Rae laughed into their drinks and Dany laughed and clapped her hands together victoriously, "You have no idea how long I've been waiting for an opportunity to use that one. Too long, that's how long." The family spent the rest of the night laughing and joking, the kids giggling at jokes they didn't quite understand, and everyone thinking, "this is family".


	13. The Best Day

**Disclaimer: not mine, etc etc**

**Okay so this is quite the chapter, and there's some cute moments, some dramatic moments, some wholesome family moments, it's got everything!**

**Read, Review, and Enjoy,**

**Stars.**

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><p><em>I grew up in a pretty house<em>  
><em>And I had space to run<em>  
><em>And I had the best days with you<em>

_There is a video_  
><em>I found from back when I was three<em>  
><em>You set up a paint set in the kitchen<em>  
><em>And you're talking to me<em>

_It's the age of princesses and pirate ships_  
><em>And the seven dwarfs<em>  
><em>Daddy's smart<em>  
><em>And you're the prettiest lady in the whole wide world<em>

~_The Best Day_, Taylor Swift

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><p>Harry woke up the next morning very, <em>very<em> excited. It was already looking like a great day: he had family staying with him (who were actually quite nice, unlike all of the Dursley's relatives), Dany and Sirius had relented and allowed him to take the day off of lessons, they were set to have dinner with the Weasleys tonight and _he didn't have lessons_. The fact he didn't have lessons was a major high point in all of this. And even though he had been warned that Rae coming home would cause trouble, Harry was just glad to have some family around that actually liked him. Trouble, he thought to himself as he walked to the bathroom to brush his teeth, they could handle. He had been in trouble before, at school and with Dudley. Sirius and Dany were tough, he reasoned, and Rae and Shay certainly seemed to be, too. Besides, Harry thought as he brushed his teeth, that's what family was for; they got in trouble together, according to Mason and Lynn. He walked downstairs to see that Dany and Padfoot were still asleep, but everyone else was awake.

"Good morning, everyone." He said, using manners like Padfoot and Dany had taught him.

"Harry!" both of the kids said simultaneously. Mason and Lynn grinned at him and Rae and Shay smiled at him warmly,

"Good morning to you too, Harry. How'd you sleep?" Shay said kindly. Harry thought that she did everything kindly; she was just very nice, it seemed.

"Good, thanks. Are Dany and Sirius still sleeping?" Everyone nodded and then Mason and Lynn exchanged looks, like they were arguing over who was going to talk. It appeared Lynn lost because she said hesitantly,

"Daddy?" Rhaegar looked up from his newspaper with a raised eyebrow,

"Yes, dear?"

"Is Harry our cousin?" She asked, pushing out the words in one breath, with an unmistakable glimmer in her eye. Harry was surprised by the question, but he _had _been wondering the same thing. Rae put his paper down altogether and said,

"Well, is he Dany's son?" Both of his children nodded, "And what's a cousin?" Mason answered immediately,

"One of your Aunt or Uncle's kids." His father nodded in confirmation,

"That's right, Mason. Now, do you want Harry to be your cousin?" Both of them nodded and Lynn said,

"Yes! Daddy, can we please be cousins with Harry?" Shay laughed and looked amused by the question. Harry felt quite loved by this whole thing.

"Well, it does appear that he's your cousin doesn't it? You already are cousins." Mason and Lynn looked quite excited by the addition of a cousin to their family.

"Does that mean you and Mom are Harry's Aunt and Uncle?" They both smiled,

"That's up to Harry. Harry can think of us as whatever he pleases." Mason and Lynn both turned their gazes to the other young boy,

"Harry, our mom and dad should be your aunt and uncle, it would be so fun; we'd all be one big family!" Harry smiled, rather shyly,

"I'd love for them to be my aunt and uncle, if they'd like me to be their nephew." They both smiled and Rae said,

"It would be our honor and privilege, Harry."

"Do I call you Aunt and Uncle?" They both laughed,

"Only if you want to. That's up to you; we don't mind either way. Our first names are fine, but please call me Rae, my full name is such a bore." Harry nodded and decided that it might be good to have a nice Aunt and Uncle.

"Okay. Uncle Rae? Aunt Shay?" They both smiled and Mason and Lynn squealed in pure excitement, "Thank you." They both hugged him and Mason and Lynn pulled him over to where they were sitting. Shay handed him a plate full of eggs, bacon, and hash browns along with a glass of pumpkin juice with a smile.

"There you are, Harry. We have no idea when Sirius or Dany are getting up so eat your fill."

"Thank you, Aunt Shay." She smiled and said softly,

"I always wanted to be an aunt." She ruffled his hair and sat down next to her husband, reading the paper over his shoulder. The kids happily talked about how great it was now that they were officially family. After about half an hour, there were signs of life from upstairs, meaning that Dany, Sirius, or both were up and moving around. About five minutes later Dany came downstairs with a severe case of bedhead, still in one of Sirius' shirts and a pair of pajama shorts.

"Morning, all." Shay looked up and smiled at her,

"Morning, Dan. _Still _no Sirius?" Harry's Godmother laughed,

"Please, we probably won't see him for," she checked the time, "Another two hours. Shay, sweetheart, you made breakfast, you don't have to get me a plate. You are, however, officially my third favorite person in this house. I have to put you behind the husband and kid, sorry." Shay sat back down and laughed,

"I understand, and I must say I'm honored."

"Hey! Where am I on that list?" Rae exclaimed. His sister sat down at the table and said with a smile,

"Well, Sirius and Harry are tied for first, then Shay, and then Mason and Lynn are tied for fourth…so that makes you last." Rae feigned hurt and Harry saw Dany shoot a quick wink in his direction, "Oh, suck it up you big baby. You've overcome worse." Harry laughed along with Mason and Lynn at this. Shay looked amused and quietly ate her eggs with a smile on her face.

"True. Oh, by the way, my kids have a very interesting announcement that you should probably hear. Kids?" Mason and Lynn both immediately perked up and Lynn said,

"Aunt Dany! Daddy told us today that Harry is our cousin! Isn't that exciting? And we asked him if that made him and Mommy Harry's aunt and uncle and they said yes! Isn't that exciting?" Dany smiled at Harry who felt very loved and proud of this announcement. He had never had so much family before.

"That's very exciting, you two. Harry I promise, they're going to become a thousand times more annoying now that they _know_ you're family. It's like a free pass to be as annoying as humanly possible." Harry laughed at his Godmother's words and wondered if she was right. He had no way of knowing; he had never had cousins before that weren't Dudley. Silence settled over the table as everyone ate and read the paper. Harry broke the silence,

"Uncle Rae?" Rhaegar looked up from the paper that he was apparently never going to finish. Harry didn't miss the smile on Dany's face at this, even though she didn't look up from her breakfast.

"Yes, Harry?"

"Do you and Sirius hate each other?" Dany's smile vanished quickly and she looked up from her food with a worried look. Shay put her fork down and the other two kids looked down at their eggs, which suddenly had become infinitely more fascinating.

"No, we don't hate each other. Does it seem like we hate each other?" Harry hesitated. Dany and Sirius had argued for over a week before Uncle Rae had arrived over him staying with them (no matter how much they had tried to hide it), but last night his Godfather and uncle had seemed to get along well enough. It was all very confusing, especially when he knew he didn't know everything that was happening.

"I guess not…I was just wondering is all."

"Harry, the war that your parents died in left a very negative mark on everyone and no one ever wants to go back to those times. Your Godfather is just worried that me being here will disrupt the peace."

"Why would he think about that?" Harry asked curiously.

"Because—"

"Rhaegar." Dany said warningly, "Enough." Harry had never heard that voice before, and it was a voice that he never particularly wanted to hear again; it was not a friendly tone of voice. This was a kind of Dany that seemed almost mean. Her brother was apparently familiar with that tone and chose to ignore it,

"Danilynn, he has to at least know what's going on in his own house! I'm not going to scar him for life, Jesus!"

"Is it because he thinks you're going to become Minister?" The bickering siblings looked at him as their arguing came to a screeching halt. Dany slowly asked,

"Harry…How did you know that?" Harry shrugged. The answer just popped into his head. And he realized why: Mrs. Weasley's history lessons had actually taught him something.

"Because your dad was Minister. Mrs. Weasley said that your family has held the position of Minister since the first one. Until now, that is. I just assumed that's what Sirius was afraid of because I don't think the current Minister is planning on retiring soon. This is the first time anyone has heard of his family and he's afraid that the people will want to reinstate the Masters line. Sirius thinks it will start a war." Everyone at the table looked shocked. Harry was confused. It's not like it was that hard to figure out. Dany nodded at him,

"Yes, that's what he's worried about. He thinks that once people know that Rae is alive, they will split into factions and start fighting and somehow we will all be caught in the middle. He's just worried about us, Harry. Don't be so hard on him, all he wants is to keep us safe." Harry nodded and understood where Sirius was coming from but also wanted Rae and the rest of them to stay. They were family.

"I understand, but I don't think it's fair. They're family and family means we don't abandon them. You didn't abandon Sirius or me, so why should we abandon them?" Harry exclaimed, as Dany looked up from her Godson, her eyes widened noticeably. Harry turned around to see Sirius standing in the doorway, looking interested at what was being said.

"Harry, who on Earth told you all of that?" Harry felt his eyes widened and he realized it sounded like they had told him everything he had just said,

"No one did; I guessed. You really don't need to know much to guess, I know you, Dany, and a little about a few of the families' histories. But Padfoot, it's not Uncle Rae's fault that he was born into the family that he was! They're our family. Just how you, Dany, and me are family. We can't leave them to do this alone! My mom and dad didn't abandon me, and you never gave them up; that's family, Padfoot." Harry pleaded with his Godfather. Sirius looked at him at the last part and leaned down to Harry's height,

"Harry, you might be the most perceptive nine-year-old ever. You're right though, they're family, and I've forgotten what that means. I've become all too selfish in Azkaban," He stood up and turned to look at his brother-in-law, "Masters, I married your sister, for better or worse, and I have nothing against you. And honestly, we all know the Ministry could use some, erm, redesigning. If that's what you want, I'm with you, we all are. Family?" Rae smiled and Shay and Dany looked like they were about ready to cry they were so happy. The women were clutching each other's hands hopefully and the kids were watching keenly. Neither of these things went unnoticed by either man.

"Family." The two shook hands and Dany actually looked like she might collapse from joy. "Now, how about we get on with our day? You two have any ideas about what to do with our hyper kids?" Sirius and Dany exchanged a look,

"Well…we could always just sit outside and let them loose." Harry's aunt and uncle laughed,

"I think that sounds like a splendid idea…Dan you know of anywhere that they'd love to go?" Dany thought for a minute and her eyes lit up,

"There's a park not far from here. It's mainly Muggle, so you don't have to really worry about the swarming masses. We could pack lunch and have a picnic and there's a playground for the kids. Besides, we have some Muggle toys of Harry's and I'm sure Lynn and Mason have some too. What do you all think?" Lynn, Mason, and Harry all looked at each other eagerly. That sounded like an awesome idea. Aunt Shay and Uncle Rae nodded in agreement,

"That sounds wonderful. I'd love to see more of the area, it's just beautiful country, honestly." Shay said earnestly. Rae smiled and nodded,

"It really is…Dan you did a wonderful job rebuilding this place after the fire, just by the way. What do you think, Sirius?" Harry looked at his Godfather hopefully and Padfoot smiled,

"I'm up for it, as long as the kids are. What do you three think?" The three kids all nodded and jumped up from where they had been eating breakfast, "Alright, go get ready. And try to find something to do while we're there, if you don't mind." Harry and his cousins ran off, up the stairs. Once they reached the second floor Mason said,

"Race you!" All three kids took off down the hallway, to the end, where their rooms were. Harry got there first, mainly because of his long legs and generally lanky frame. Mason slowed down and purposely allowed his sister to overtake him at the very last minute. Harry started to say something but the other boy put a finger to his lips and smiled quickly before Lynn could turn around at catch him. The three all separated into their respective rooms and started to get changed out of their pajamas. Harry found a pair of pants and his favorite shirt. Ironically, it was the shrunken Quidditch shirt that Sirius had put him in the very first night that he had stayed with his Godparents. He shoved his feet into a pair of sneakers that were good for running and playing tag and started to look for Muggle toys that they could play with at the park. There wasn't really much that wasn't magic in some capacity, except for some bubbles (that didn't change color) and three squirt guns. He didn't know how Dany would like him potentially blasting strangers with water (he was positive Padfoot would think it was hilarious), but it was worth a shot.

He left his room and went back downstairs. He was apparently the first once back because there were only adults in the Kitchen. Dany and Aunt Shay were making sandwiches and all kinds of food while Sirius and Uncle Rae were trying to get most of the dust off what Harry assumed was a picnic basket; he wasn't quite sure though, as he had never had a picnic. Finally Sirius tossed his hands up and pulled out his wand with an exclamation of,

"I'm just going to set the bloody thing on fire, at this rate!" Rae laughed and said slyly,

"You could just clean it instead. We don't need to burn the house down a second time." Sirius realized that he could in fact just clean it off magically and did so. Harry laughed, which made all of the adults look up at him. Dany put down the knife she had been using and said,

"Harry James, why on Earth do you have squirt guns?" Sirius laughed, and so did Uncle Rae, "We don't need you squirting people we don't know with water. I don't think they'd be very happy. The bubbles are a fantastic idea, but those stay here." Harry resigned himself to his suspicions that she wouldn't let him bring them, although he was more than welcome to use them at home, when the Weasleys were over. She went back to whatever she had been doing when Sirius and Uncle Rae winked at him and gestured for him to hand them over. Harry grinned and quickly passed them to his Godfather and uncle. They both took one and stowed them away on their persons. They both grinned and Harry knew that he wasn't supposed to say anything to Dany or Aunt Shay.

Just then, Mason and Lynn came bounding down with a kite and four squirt guns. Dany threw her hands up,

"What is it with those things? You're more than welcome to use them at home, but people don't like it when you hit them in the face with water." Shay smiled and said to her son and daughter,

"Kids, give them to me." They reluctantly handed them over, "Now, can you two and Harry help Sirius and your father put all of this in the basket?" She pointed to the food on the counter. They all nodded, eager to help with the assigned job, "Rae, make sure the sandwiches go one top, they'll be flat as pancakes if they're not." Her husband nodded and they all set to work putting everything in the basket while Dany and Shay went up to go change clothes. They finished putting everything in the basket pretty quickly and Padfoot took the bubbles and kite off their hands, putting it in a bag along with a blanket. The two women returned a few minutes after they had finished putting everything away. They were dressed casually, much like their husbands, in shorts and t-shirts. Dany smiled at her husband and brother,

"You all ready?" The kids nodded and both men checked to make sure they had their wands.

"Yup. Are we driving?" Rae asked. Dany nodded at her brother.

"Yeah, we can't exactly apparate into a place full of Muggles. We have a car with an undetectable extension charm so it's no big deal." All seven of them walked out of the house and piled into the car. Dany drove, claiming yet again "Sirius Black I've told you a hundred times that I did not survive the greatest civil war that our world has ever seen just to die because of your rotten depth perception and poor understanding of the rules of operating a Muggle car". They reached the park in almost no time, not even giving Dany long enough to whack Sirius over the head for complaining about his "domineering" wife.

They all got out of the car and saw that Dany had been right; the park was quite pretty, and although there were some people, they were all definitely Muggle, and no one seemed interested in the least in the family with the silver-blonde hair, Harry Potter, or Sirius Black. They unloaded all of their stuff and picked a spot to set up camp. It was still relatively early, so the adults set the kids loose, allowing them to play as long as they didn't get hurt or wander out of eyesight. Harry, Mason, and Lynn walked off towards the playground almost immediately.

"Aunt Dany has the best ideas ever!" Mason was nearly bouncing with excitement. Harry nodded as they climbed up one of the ladders to sit on the top of one of the towers, their feet dangling over the edge.

"Yeah, her and Padfoot are really the best. Your mom and dad are pretty cool too though." Harry said to his bubbly cousins. Lynn tilted her head to the side slightly,

"Why do you call Uncle Sirius 'Padfoot'?" Harry grinned at her as she bumped her shoulder into his,

"It was what my dad called him when they were at Hogwarts, that's the school here for witches and wizards, by the way. My friend Ron has three brothers that go there already and it sounds _awesome_. We get to go when we're eleven…you guys are magic, right?" Harry questioned, for the first time wondering if either of them weren't magic. Both of them grinned,

"Yup! We both started accidental at about 6, almost 7." Mason said cheerily. Lynn pouted, something finally dawning on her,

"Aw man, I have to wait a whole extra year before I can go to Hogwarts!" She pouted and Harry tried to think of a way to make her feel better because she seemed genuinely upset by this. Tears started to well and Mason looked alarmed, scrambling for a way to keep his little sister from crying.

"It's okay, Lynn. My friend Ginny is your age, she's Ron's sister, so you'll go to Hogwarts together. You'll meet them tonight at dinner." Harry's words seemed to perk her up, knowing that she wouldn't be completely alone in the gap year between her brother's departure and her start at school. Mason looked at him gratefully as his sister's tears dried up. The older brother tried to change the subject,

"Hey, I bet I can go down that slide the fastest!" Lynn immediately responded to her brother's baiting, completely falling for the distraction,

"Nuh-uh! I bet I can! Harry, can you judge?" Harry laughed and agreed,

"I'll judge. Just let me go stand at the bottom." They played like this for hours while the adults sat on the grass and talked. The bubbles were quite the hit, but there was no wind so the kite remained unloved in the bottom of the bag that had been brought. Eventually Shay yelled for them to come over for lunch, and they came running. Dany was leaned up against Padfoot and Shay was pulling food out of the basket for everyone. Uncle Rae laughed and said,

"Wow there, you three need to take those shoes off before you come thundering over and get dirt in the food." All three of them yanked their shoes off, "And hold out your hands, they're filthy and the last thing we need is a bunch of snotty kids for the next week." They did so and Rae cast a look around to make sure no one was looking. He quickly pulled his wand out and tapped their hands, cleaning them. No one even looked up; Harry was pretty sure that not even Sirius, Dany, or Shay noticed it was so fast. All three kids sat down and were handed heaping plates of potato salad, a sandwich, some fruit, and a cookie. Dany tossed each one bottled pumpkin juice and they all thanked her. Everyone contentedly ate for a while but towards the end of the meal Dany said casually,

"So, Sirius…what did you do with those squirt guns that I know Harry gave you?" Harry looked at his Godfather. They were _so_ busted. Sirius shifted slightly,

"Um, Dan…I have no idea what you're talking about." Shay tried to suppress a smile but failed. Before any of the kids knew what was happening all four of the adults had pulled out the squirt guns and three more had been tossed down on the ground. The kids all grabbed them quickly and before anyone had time to say anything else, a full on water war ensued, the food long forgotten. Dany was chasing her husband around, blasting him with water, while Harry and Mason were remorselessly spraying Lynn who was laughing so hard she claimed she could no longer breathe. Rae and Shay were laughing and shouting things along the lines of "I will be victorious" at each other. Soon, the kids were out of water, and so were Dany, Shay, and Sirius, so the situation quickly devolved from a water war. Eventually Sirius was carrying his wife around over his shoulder while she laughed, demanding to be put down, and Uncle Rae was chasing Shay around trying to squirt her butt with water, as he was the only one with water still left in his gun. Eventually Rae ran out of water and they all flopped down on the grass, completely drenched. Harry noticed that the sky was starting to darken slightly and apparently so did Sirius,

"It's getting late…we're supposed to have the Weasleys over and its nearly five." Dany put a hand over her face,

"I forgot…we should probably go. Heaven knows we all need showers now. And dinner has to be made." The kids all made sounds of disappointment, "I know, but we'll come back, promise. Come on, Harry, you love the Weasleys, and I know Mason and Lynn will too." The adults all sat up and they had grass sticking to them, which the kids found quite funny. They pulled their children up and together all seven of them packed their things away and trooped back to the car.

Thirty minutes later, they were back home and Harry, Mason, and Lynn were waiting for their turn to shower. Dany, Rae, Shay, and Sirius had gotten first pick of the showers because they would need more time to cook dinner. Harry wasn't quite sure how all four were showering in a house with only three bathrooms, but he supposed he didn't really quite want to know. Dany, Sirius, Uncle Rae, and Aunt Shay came down stairs all at the same time and Rae looked closely at his sister and brother-in-law and wrinkled his nose in distaste,

"Aw, Dan, gross. There are kids in the house." She shrugged and said,

"Silencing charms are a thing, Rae. Learn to love it, big bro." Sirius, for his part, looked rather uncomfortable at the conversation that went right over the kids' heads, thankfully, "Alright, you three, go get showers." The three kids went up the stairs and eagerly got in the shower, glad to get the grass stuck to them off their skin.

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><p>Downstairs, Dany was making dinner, assisted by Shay. Their husbands had been delegated the duty of setting the table because "neither of you can actually cook. We are not subjecting guests to your horrendous culinary skills". Dany smiled at her sister-in-law as they silently worked to make dinner; it was a comfortable silence, and both women cherished it. It wasn't very often silence fell in a house with one young child in it, let alone three of them.<p>

"Dany?" Shay said quietly. Dany didn't look up from where she was chopping onions, lest she accidentally cut a finger off,

"Yeah?"

"When people find out about Rae…how bad will it be? He's been trying to downplay it, but after I saw how worried Sirius was, I can't help but wondering." Dany put her knife down and charmed it to do the work for her, so she could answer her sister with out mutilating herself in the process.

"It…well it's not going to be easy. I know you and your kids are used to a certain degree of…anonymity but you have to understand that mine and Rae's father left some very big shoes to fill and my brother is eager to do so and I don't blame him for it, but our family is one of the oldest and one of the most publicized in all of England. The return of the eldest son of the ex-Minister from the dead will be hot news for a while, which is something you and your kids should prepare yourselves for. There will be headlines about your personal lives, you will be in gossip columns, and there will be reporters following you when you're in public," Shay nodded and Dany felt quite sorry for her. At least she, Rae, and Sirius had grown up with publicity. Sirius may not have been a Masters, but he was a Black and they enjoyed their fair share of headlines, "Not everything they say will be nice, but the best advice I can give you is give them nothing to crucify you for." Shay placed dinner in the oven and sat down at the table, next to Dany,

"I suppose that's about what I expected. I just don't know how the kids will handle it. How did you and Rae handle it when you were kids?" She said. Dany shrugged,

"I don't know, I mean there was a birth announcement on the front page of the Prophet the morning after I was born. I just grew up with it and didn't think twice. When I got older though, and I started dating Sirius, things got bad and gossip columns got mean. It really cut me up, but my parents always said that the people who matter don't care what the papers say and the people who care what they say don't matter. I always keep that in mind when my face ends up somewhere in the paper solely for existing." Dany said softly. It was a real bitch to deal with sometimes but it keeps her family relevant and it also kept Fudge on his toes. The fact that the remnants of the Masters Dynasty were still front-page news further fueled his fear of a revolt. Shay sighed,

"I suppose I knew what I signed on for when I married him and had his silver haired kids…I just wish they didn't have to know how cruel people can be so young." Dany put a hand on her shoulder and said kindly,

"They might surprise you yet. You know, the women in my family typically do a lot of charity work in their free time and it's something I've been meaning to get back into, would that be something that you'd like to start?" Shay smiled at her widely,

"That sounds wonderful, I just don't know what I'm going to do about the kids lessons. We had a tutor back in the States and honestly I'm dismal at teaching." Dany laughed and strongly suspected that Molly Weasley would be more than happy to take in two more, but did not volunteer her services without asking her, "But what kind of community service are you talking about?" Dany shrugged and smiled a little. She had always loved serving the needy and the poor,

"I don't know it really depends on the person…my mom's pet project was helping victims of sexual abuse. Personally, I always wanted to do work in orphanages to help under-privileged children, but it really depends on what your passion is. I really think working on something together would be a great way to get to know each other better. We _are _family, after all." Dany said with a smile and Shay laughed a bit too,

"We are indeed. I can't believe I married into this hot mess sometimes." Dany chuckled and said,

"You and Sirius certainly seem to have lost your minds." Just as Shay was going to respond, someone knocked on the door, "That's them…I'll be right back." Dany walked to the door and opened it to see Molly and Arthur will Fred, George, Ron, and Ginny all trailing behind them. Molly smiled,

"Hello, Dany dear. I'm sorry we're late, the twins decided that now was a great time to set the garden gnomes on each other." Dany laughed and said,

"Its not trouble, honestly. The kids are just getting out of the shower anyways. Why don't you all come in?" All six of the Weasleys entered the house and Dany herded them towards the living room, where everyone could comfortably fit. Shay appeared a moment later and smiled at them all. Dany gestured to her and said, "This is Shay, my sister-in-law. Shay this is Molly, Arthur, George, Ron, Ginny, and Fred Weasley." Shay moved forward and shook Molly and Arthur's hands,

"It's lovely to meet you all. Dan said you have three more boys?" Arthur nodded,

"Bill, Charlie, and Percy." Shay shook her head faintly,

"I only have two and I can barely handle it. Rae tries to help me when he can, but for some reason they always go shouting for Mommy. And honestly his cooking is just horrid." Dany laughed,

"Sirius is abysmal too, if that makes you feel better." Molly raised an eyebrow at the mention of Dany's brother but said nothing.

"Oi! I resent that comment about my cooking, they might all think it's wonderful!" Said a voice from the hallway. Moments later Sirius and Rae walked in, both looking scandalized that their culinary prowess had been insulted. Molly and Arthur both stood up,

"Rhaegar Masters…my God, we've waited a long time for a real leader to return. You've been sorely missed." Arthur said quietly. Molly put a hand over her heart,

"I never thought I'd live to see another Masters at the head of the Ministry. But know that if you plan to return and remove Fudge from office, you have our support and we're not alone in that." Just then, as if the Weasleys weren't shocked enough, Dany thought wryly, Harry, Mason, and Lynn came into the room.

"Molly, Arthur, kids, meet Mason and Danilynn Masters. They're Rae's kids." Lynn brightly said,

"Aunt Dany, you know I go by Lynn!" Dany laughed,

"I know but they should at least know what your full name is, don't you think?" Lynn nodded slowly, "Kids, this is Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and their kids Ginny, Ron, Fred, and George." Mason and Lynn both smiled at the other kids and Harry dragged Mason over to Ron, Fred, and George, who started throwing questions at him quickly, "Ginny, Lynn is the same age as you so you'll be in the same year at Hogwarts." Ginny and Lynn both perked up and smiled at each other shyly and started to talk. The adults sat down on the chairs while the kids all talked off to the side, on the floor. Arthur looked at them worriedly,

"You should all know, you presence hasn't gone by unnoticed. A friend of mine at the Ministry got a glimpse of the Prophet's headlines for tomorrow morning. I brought it with me." He pulled it out of his robes and handed it to Rhaegar who unrolled it to reveal the front page. The headline read RHAEGAR MASTERS LIVES. Below the headline was a picture that had been taken today of all seven of them eating lunch at the park. The silver-blonde hair of Dany, Rae, Mason, and Lynn was unmistakable. Sirius and Harry were also visible, something that Dany wasn't particularly thrilled about. Shay was partially obscured by her husband's shadow, but no one would know who she was anyways. Somehow, the Prophet had known they were there. The article read something along the lines of…

_Twelve years ago, Daniel and Rhea Masters were killed in their home during a raid to assassinate the Minister of Magic. Until today, it was believed that only their daughter, Danilynn (wife of Sirius Black, both of whom are Aurors), survived the attack. However, evidence has appeared, which can be seen above, that her older brother Rhaegar survived as well, only to vanish into thin air. He was seen yesterday in Northern Scotland with his sister, Sirius Black, Harry Potter, presumably his two children, and an unnamed woman, presumably his wife. Neither Sirius Black nor Danilynn could be found for comment. Minister Fudge, however, released a statement exclusively to the Prophet, stating, "I'm very glad to see that one of the greatest dynasties that the Wizarding World has ever seen is survived by more than only one member. We welcome back Rhaegar, his children, and his wife to England." When asked whether or not he felt threatened by the return of a man many considered to be the heir to the title of Minister, he refused to comment. Check back with the Daily Prophet to see this breaking news unfold from the Wizarding World's most reliable source. _

Sirius whistled.

"Damn, you all really know how to make a statement. Welcome back, Masters." Shay groaned,

"This is just the beginning, isn't it?" Dany just laughed and patted her on the back, an unspoken, "You have no idea".


	14. Love Alone is Worth the Fight

**Disclaimer: Anything you don't recognize is mine, other wise, it's JKR's**

**SO this chapter just came to me and I really like it. It's going to be a pretty big turning point in the plot for a little while, until this whole Minister ordeal gets straightened out.**

**Read, Review, and Enjoy,**

**Stars.**

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><p><em>We're only here for a season <em>  
><em>I'm looking for the rhyme and reason <em>  
><em>Why you're born, why you're leaving <em>  
><em>What you fear and what you believe in <em>

_Why you're living and breathing _  
><em>Why you're fighting it and getting even <em>  
><em>Let's go headed down the open road unknown <em>

_And we find what we're made of _  
><em>Through the open door <em>  
><em>Is it fear you're afraid of? <em>

_What are you waiting for? _

~_Love Alone is Worth the Figh_t, Switchfoot

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><p>Dany woke up the next morning worried. They were going into work today, her face had just been on the front page of the newspaper, and she was sure Fudge would be out for her blood. She rolled over to see that Sirius was already awake and from the look on his face, had been for a while. She smiled at him tiredly and said,<p>

"Time for work, huh?" He nodded and kissed the top of her head. She could feel his breath on her scalp and hair and really had no desire to move ever again. Sirius sighed and said,

"Dan, no matter what happens today, we're still a family and we're in this together. You know that right? For better or for worse." She smiled and pulled herself out of bed,

"I know…I have a feeling that today is definitely going to be an interesting one." Sirius sighed and put a hand over his face,

"I have a feeling that you're exactly right." Thirty minutes later they were standing at the fireplace, wondering if they _really_ wanted to go to work today. It didn't matter Dany thought to herself; they had to. Moody was already pissed that they both took a day off for a family emergency yesterday and Dany was quickly running out of sick days to use. Besides, it would look like a sign of weakness of neither of them showed the day the story run. They glanced at each other one more time and stepped into the fireplace together and said,

"Ministry of Magic, Atrium!" They both vanished in the green flames and moments later were spit out in the heart of the Ministry of Magic. It didn't take long to notice that people were staring.

And people _were really staring. _Everywhere she looked they were staring at her, sizing her up, wondering if it was true; was Rhaegar Masters really alive? Has the Golden Boy of Wizarding England actually returned as a grown man with a wife, son, and daughter? Dany was used to the staring, and so was Sirius, but neither of them particularly enjoyed it. There were newspaper stands in the Atrium today, something highly unusual in peacetime. During the war, it was the only way Ministry workers ever knew what was going on in the outside world; they had never gone home. Dany hadn't seen paper stands in the Atrium since the fall of Voldemort. A young boy, an intern probably, was waving a paper in his hand and yelling, "Rhaegar Masters, alive or hoax? Read it here in the Prophet!" His shouting quickly stopped when Dany glared at him and snapped at him that there was no hoax. His shouts quickly turned to "Rhaegar Masters spotted alive! Read about it in the Prophet!" Sirius snickered at the fearful kid. He was probably only seventeen or eighteen and terrified of being fired.

Halfway to the lifts, a woman in about her seventies grabbed Dany's forearm. She stopped with a jerk and Sirius drew his wand,

"Sirius, don't. Put it away." Dany said quickly. He reluctantly put his wand away but continued to eye the lady with distrust. Dany looked at the woman and saw no malice or ill intention in her face, "How can I help you?" She asked softly. The woman smiled and said,

"Bless you, Child. Bless you and bless your brother. Is it true; what they're saying?" Dany nodded silently, taken aback by the sudden turn of events, "Good, good. I'm glad; and I'm not the only one that feels that way, either." She pulled Dany close and whispered in her ear, "There are more of us than you could imagine." She released the younger woman, who pulled back to stand next to your husband. The old lady kissed her on the forehead and walked away with a broad smile on her face. Dany looked at her husband.

"Well, that was…" Sirius said slowly, like he wasn't quite sure what he had just seen. Dany wasn't quite sure what had happened either.

"Weird?" Dany prompted him, as they stood motionless in the middle of the Atrium.

"Very." He muttered, "Come on, let's just get to the office before some old guy tries to kiss you too." They started to walk again and Dany laughed and took his hand, something that they were careful to never do at work. Married at home, partners at work.

"Scared that I'll leave you for someone twice your age? I mean normally women marry old guys for their money, but that's rather irrelevant seeing that we're both rather well off." Dany said casually. Sirius rolled his eyes,

"I don't think 'rather well off' really covers our financial situation, Dan. We technically have never had to work a day in our lives." She shrugged absently,

"True. But what would we do with ourselves if we didn't work? I think we'd drive each other and Harry crazy, honestly." They got on the lift and just before the door closed, a man in his forties got in.

"Sorry, sorry. Where are you two headed?" Dany and Sirius dropped each other's hands and wondered if the man had bothered to actually look up to see who he was talking to. Sirius answered dryly,

"Auror Department, Level Two." The man punched Level Three and then looked up at them for the first time since getting on the lift. Dany watched his eyes flick to Sirius; they widened and moved directly to her face, once realizing who the other man in the lift was.

"You…you're Danilynn Masters. And you're Sirius Black." Dany didn't bother to correct him on her last name. Why add fuel to the publicity fire? Dany nodded,

"Yeah, I am…I'm sorry have we met?" She asked, hoping that she hadn't met him and just forgotten. The man shook his head,

"No, we've never met. At least not since you can remember. I worked as an intern for your father, you and your brother were probably only 5 and 2 at the time." Dany raised her eyebrows, but shook his hand. This day was getting stranger by the second.

"Well, it's nice to meet you. Where do you work now, if you interned for my father?" She asked him politely,

"In Law Enforcement. I left the Minister's direct command when Fudge cam into power, that buffoon. You should know, anything you or your brother needs in Law Enforcement, I can help. I have a good position there and am friends with the head of the Department." Dany nodded again and smiled charmingly,

"That's very kind of you…" She trailed off, prompting his name,

"Joseph. Joseph Flagler." He said.

"Well, that's very kind of you Joseph. I'm sure my father greatly appreciated your work, when he was alive." As the doors opened to Level Three, he whispered to them both,

"I am with your family, and I am not alone. We_ all _want to bring your brother back into power. Allies are closer than you think." He raised his voice, "Nice to meet you two. Have a nice day." He left and Sirius threw his hands up in the air as the lift continued down to Level Two,

"What the living fu—" the doors opened again and people looked at him, in the middle of his outburst. He put his hands down and they got out of the elevator and hurried down the hall before anyone else could stop them to declare their allegiance with Dany's family and to tell them there were more people than they thought thinking the same thing. They walked into the Auror Department and everyone fell quiet immediately. Some of the older Aurors shook Dany's hand as she smiled at them and said that yes her brother was alive, and yes he was looking to come work for the Ministry again. The younger crowd looked astonished, like they didn't know what to think. She saw Parker and Simmons both vanish quickly, she assumed to go get Moody.

Sure enough, not five minutes later, Alastor Moody came out of his office and said,

"Danilynn Black! I should have your damn head for not telling me your brother was alive all this time. I went to his funeral! Hell, I mourned him _and_ your parents! Are you going to tell me that your bleeding parents are alive too?" Dany shook her head,

"My parents are really gone, Alastor. And I'm sorry I didn't tell you, I wanted to but no one could know Rae was alive, not until it was safe for him to come back. Not even Sirius knew. Lily and James never knew either. It's nothing personal, honestly. I was planning on taking that secret to the grave if I had to. If I went, there would be no loose ends, no one would ever know to seek out Rhaegar and he could have a normal life." Moody shook his head faintly,

"Damn, I'm just glad to hear that he _is_ alive. How did he get out? I went to your house the night of the raid; the fire the Death Eaters set, no one was getting out of that." Dany shrugged quietly,

"The Death Eaters didn't set the fire, I did. I found a Death Eater young enough to be my brother and burned him beyond recognition once Rae was gone. I set fire to the house to make sure there were no survivors, so no one would be able to identify the dead except me. I identified my parents' bodies and the Death Eater as Rae. No one ever knew. Not until now." Moody shook his head.

"That means…it was you who killed those men just outside the wards?" Dany nodded and Sirius looked around to see the entire Department watching keenly.

"Yeah, it was me. Why? Who did you think it was?" She said, with curiosity. Moody shrugged,

"We never knew. Some people suspected you, but most people didn't know what to say about it. Three men, Death Eaters, escape your house that night, only to be cut down by persons unknown? It was quite the point of contention in the Department for a while as to who killed them. It was a mystery we couldn't quite crack, which doesn't happen very often. I've got to say, that wasn't at all up to your normal caliber of Death Eater disposal." Dany shrugged again,

"We were in a war, my brother had just fled England, and my parents had just been murdered. I was seventeen and terrified. So forgive me for not making the worlds cleanest kills, Alastor." She said dryly to her mentor. Some of the Aurors in the room shifted awkwardly. Dany knew why. They didn't kill, not anymore. Some of them, like Parker and Simmons, had never actually had to. As great as that was, Dany thought to herself, she wasn't quite sure that someone could be considered an Auror until they'd been forced to take life; it showed your character real fast in a multitude of ways, how you reacted, how it happened, and who it was all exposed a person's nature. She honestly didn't know if some of the recently inducted had the stomach for it, which was worrying. Now, they all looked at her like they had quite forgotten that she had been a part of the war that they had all been too young to participate in.

She, Sirius, Lily, and James _should_ have been too young, but Dany was very close to Moody and had convinced him to expedite their acceptances and training, as long as they could pass everything at the end. He had reluctantly agreed, hesitant but allowing them to become full Aurors less than a year after they graduated Hogwarts, due to the speed they completed their training. By eighteen, they were out in the field, fighting and killing Death Eaters. Moody interrupted her thoughts suddenly.

"My God. Rhaegar." Everyone turned around to see Rhaegar Masters standing near the entrance of the Department, somehow managing to slip through the Ministry unseen. Moody brushed by Dany and unceremoniously hugged the younger man, "Good to see you, Son. Good to see you." Rae hugged him back and Dany smiled. Rhaegar had always liked Alastor as much as his sister had, if not more so.

"Hey, Alastor. Sorry I've been gone for so long, I had some business to take care of." Moody let go of his Godson and realized the entire Department's jaws were somewhere near the ground at this point.

"Your sister told me. Would it have killed you to send word that you weren't actually dead?" Rae looked rather abashed and Sirius snickered and whispered to Dany,

"Damn, I forgot how much he gets on your brother's ass about things." Dany laughed quietly and nodded in agreement. She had forgotten too, honestly. The Potters had been her Godparents but Alastor Moody and a deceased friend of her mother, Florence Miller, were Rae's Godparents. Needless to say, Alastor Moody felt very, _very _comfortable yelling at his Godson for not behaving the way he should. Alastor backed off from his Godson and Kingsley Shacklebolt was the first to approach him.

"Hey, I just wanted to say that your sister is my mentor in the department, and if you're anything at all like her, I'm glad as Hell you're back." Kingsley said earnestly. Rhaegar shook his hand with a big smile. Dany exchanged a look with her husband that said 'I told you this is where he was supposed to be'. Sirius rolled his eyes, agreeing despite himself.

"Thanks, I'm glad to be back. How bad _is _she? Sirius said she's a real pain in the ass, too." Both men laughed and Dany threw her hands up,

"Hey, I'm not that horrible! And besides you wouldn't be standing here if it wasn't for me, Shacklebolt." She pointed out, feigning annoyance. Rae raised and eyebrow,

"You're Shacklebolt? Kingsley, right?" he nodded in confirmation, "Well, from what I hear from my baby sister, you've got a lot of potential. She certainly only has good things to say about you." Shacklebolt smiled at him and looked at Dany,

"That's awfully nice of you, Black. I didn't know you wrote home about me." Dany rolled her eyes.

"Oh yeah, yuck it up." She grumbled. Everyone chuckled a little and the tension of having a man thought to be dead in the room vanished. People came up to him, smiling and shaking his hand. A couple of the older Aurors that remembered him gave him hugs and were finally able to give their condolences for the loss of his parents.

People started to matriculate over to Dany and Sirius, once they greeted Rae. She heard things mainly like "He seems like a great man" and "If he wants to be Minister, I'm _totally_ okay with that, honestly". Dany caught her brother's eye and he smiled a bit, reminding her of her father when he had been lecturing the Wizengamot on the _actual_ meaning of justice. This hadn't been just a 'let's go see where Dany and Sirius work' trip. This had been a political move, in a big way. He wanted support from the people, particularly people inside the Ministry.

It wasn't a bad idea, Dany thought her herself. He was personable, smart, charismatic, and had a good memory for names and faces. She saw him ask for a person's name and then look at their face hard for a brief second, trying to memorize it. Then it would pass so fast most people didn't even see it. Everyone likes a leader who knows the people they're leading, their father used to say. Rhaegar had apparently taken this adage to heart. Dany was snapped out of thoughts again today, this time by Sirius jabbing an elbow into her ribs. She looked up and smiled at a woman she didn't recognize; she must work under Moody.

"I'm sorry, this is so embarrassing, but have we met?" The woman smiled and shook her head,

"No, we've never met, although we all know who you are. I'm Gwen, I just started last month." Dany shook her hand and smiled again. She noticed a little girl trailing her,

"Is that your daughter?" Dany asked quite suddenly. Gwen looked behind her and said,

"Mary, didn't I tell you to stay in my cubicle?" The girl nodded, knowing she had been caught somewhere she wasn't supposed to be. Gwen turned back to Dany, "I'm sorry, I know she isn't supposed to be here, but my husband and I just can't afford good childcare for both our kids. It's just too expensive, so she comes to work with me, her brother is too young for anything but daycare." Dany waved her off,

"Oh, I have no problem with it. I love kids. It's Moody you have to watch out for; but don't let him fool you, he loves the little ones too." Dany said as she smiled and crouched down to be eyelevel with the girl,

"Hi, Sweetheart. What's your name?" The girl, no more than four or five, smiled shyly and said,

"Mary."

"Well, hello Mary, I'm Dany. That's an awfully cute puppy dog you have there." The girl moved closer to her, less nervous now, to show her the plush dog that she was clutching in her hands. The girl suddenly reached out and touched Dany's hair,

"Why is it silver?" Dany laughed,

"I'm not quite sure. I was just born this way, I suppose. Your mom said you have a brother?" Mary nodded and said,

"Joey is my brother. He's only two though. So he goes to daycare. I'm a big girl, so I have to come with Mommy to work."

"You certainly are a big girl. How old are you?" She smiled brightly,

"I'm five and a half!" Dany smiled at her and a idea suddenly struck her as she fell back into the rhythm of the charity that her and her mother had done so often when she was home on holiday.

"Well, Miss Mary, would you want to go to primary school when your brother is at daycare?" Mary nodded but looked sad,

"I do. But Mommy and Daddy can't afford it so I can't." Dany looked up at Sirius and said,

"Sirius, can you go grab some parchment and a quill?" He nodded and Dany stood up to talk to Gwen.

"Gwen, I'm going to give you the name of a magical daycare and primary school; it's where my parents sent me and my brother when we were children, it's one of the best in England."

"That's awfully nice, Mrs. Black, but we can't—"

"Afford it? I don't worry about the cost," She wrote something and paused, "I'm sorry, what are your kids' last names?" She raised an eyebrow by said,

"Tyler. Joseph and Mary Tyler." Dany nodded and kept writing. She finished and handed the letter to Gwen with a smile. She tore a piece of parchment off the bottom of the roll and wrote something else down. Gwen read the letter and looked at her, shocked and about ready to cry.

"This…I can't accept this." She said. Dany looked at her sternly,

"You can and you will, I insist. This is the school's name. It's William's School for the Talented and Gifted. That's code for 'magic primary school'." Gwen hugged her tightly and said,

"Thank you…thank you so much. I can never repay this. Your family…you are amazing people. I know what people speak about now, when they speak of the generosity and greatness of your family." Dany smiled, she had missed helping people who needed it. She had been serious when she had spoken to Shay about it; she wanted to resume the community service and she and her mother had so veraciously participated in. Dany leaned back down and said,

"Miss. Mary, it's been very nice to meet you. Be good to your mom, alright?" She nodded and touched a necklace around her neck. Dany looked down at the necklace that hung around her neck, "You like it?" She nodded and Dany waved her wand and a duplicate appeared in her hand, "Well here you go. You can have on just like it." Mary smiled and flew into her arms. Dany mouthed to the girl's mother 'it's just a replica, there's no real value'. Gwen relaxed; she had looked worried about handing her daughter something made out of gold and semi-precious jewels. Dany carefully removed the girl from her, "You should probably go now, I think your mommy has some work to do." Mary smiled again and said,

"Bye, Dany!" Dany stood up and Sirius asked her,

"Dan…What was on that piece of paper?" She smiled and said,

"It was a letter to the Headmaster of William's. We're paying for those kids schooling until they can go to Hogwarts." Sirius looked startled but grinned.

"You're amazing, you know that? I don't know what Daniel and Rhea did when they raised you two, but they certainly did something right." She leaned against her husband's shoulder and noticed that Parker and Simmons were watching her keenly, along with many other Aurors. Dany heard Parker mutter,

"Auror my ass. She's a bloody politician." Rhaegar looked over at his sister and grinned.

"Taking up Mom's mantle, Dan?" She laughed and said,

"I think so…I'm bringing your wife with me, just so you know." He shrugged and said,

"That will be good. She could use something to do. I think the kids might drive her crazy otherwise…I should go. You all clearly have work to do, and I've likely overstayed my welcome. It was nice to meet you all. Dan, you mind if I use the Floo?" She shook her head. Rae hugged Moody one more time and said, "I want you over for dinner, you hear?" before he vanished in the green flames. Everyone looked at Dany and Sirius with wide eyes.

"What the Hell?" Someone slowly said from the back of the crowd of Aurors,

"What the Hell, indeed." Sirius muttered to his wife. Dany smiled and said,

"Oi! Show's over. Get back to work before you're all on desk duty for the next month!" Everyone quickly dispersed, but Rhaegar Masters and Danilynn Black was on everyone's lips and minds.

Rhaegar had officially made his return to the public eye. He had just entered into the fight for the Ministry and there was no going back now, Dany thought as she sat in her office and began to address the paperwork in front of her.


	15. I Promise I'll Finish This

Hey guys! So this story is kind of at a slow-moving pace right now, due to my sudden interest in Sirius' and Dany's early life so I made a new fic called Fire N Gold and I really think it gives the characters a much deeper feeling and the prequel is going to run from Third Year to Lily and James' death.

It's in the same general format and it's looking like it's going to be pretty lengthy so do me a huge favor and go check it out (but never fear, this will continue as well).

Thanks! Essie


	16. We're Taking Over

_Disclaimer: Yeah, I tragically don't own this_

_I told you that I'd keep up with this story! So there's definitely some tie in to Fire n Gold, so I really strongly suggest taking a look at it, even though what's mentioned in this chapter hasn't exactly happened in Fire n Gold (as of August 2015 when I'm typing this)._

_I took a few new perspectives and I really enjoyed it. Let's just say that Fudge is getting nervous_

_Read and Review!_

_Essie_

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><p>But we're still standing, we're still breathing<br>We're still fighting, we're not leaving, let me see you  
>If you hear me, sing along<br>But we're still standing, we're still breathing  
>We're still fighting, we're not leaving, let me see you<br>If you hear me, sing along

~_We're Taking Over_, Bea Miller

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><p>Cornelius Fudge was not happy. He woke up this morning, got dressed, and Apparated to his office, like any other day. He smiled at his secretary, who winked at him, and then sat down at his desk to read the morning paper that appeared there every morning. That was when his good day ended.<p>

The front-page headline blared THE RETURN OF THE GOLDEN ERA OF WIZARDING KIND, almost as if the editor of the Prophet was trying to mock him. This was not the headline he had signed off on; it was only supposed to say that the eldest Masters was alive, nothing more and nothing less. RHAEGAR MASTERS LIVES, that was all it was supposed to say. Fudge felt an uneasy twinge in his stomach. It was already happening. The Prophet was starting to dissent, and if the newspaper was slipping between his fingers, everyone else wouldn't be far behind.

Below the headline was a picture that had clearly been taken without the permission of its occupants. Both Blacks and Harry Potter were easily identifiable, even from a distance. He looked closer and there was Rhaegar Masters, sitting between his sister and another woman, presumably his wife; he was older, but definitively the same person as the 20-year-old man that had supposed to have died. There were two more heads full of the signature white hair in the picture too, two children, a boy and a girl. Fudge felt his stomach sink even further towards the ground.

No one had said that one of the kids was a boy. He had made a statement to the Prophet last night, in an attempt to control the outrage this would cause with many of the people, in many places, who believed that he was an inept Minister of Magic. He had welcomed them back, he had tried to be neutral, but he hadn't known that there was a son, a son that would carry on their family line.

At least Masters' pain-in-the-ass Auror sister would have Black's spawn; she would give the world no more Masters children, at least not in name. Many had wanted Danilynn to become Minister, yet she had refused, insisting that she was too young and was planning on becoming an Auror along with her friends and boyfriend, who had apparently actually her fiancé. She had been a constant thorn in his side ever since she was old enough to talk and he had worked under Daniel Masters. She had told him off repeatedly and spoke poorly of him to her father, married Sirius Black, joined the Auror Department (where she was practically untouchable under Alastor Moody's watchful eye) and she quickly rose through the ranks, earning acclaim from many for helping save the Wizarding World from Voldemort, somehow had gotten her husband released from jail, obtained custody of Harry Potter, and brought her brother back from the dead, complete with family and heir. All within ten years. She was a busy woman, Fudge had to admit.

But no matter how annoying Danilynn Black was, she was only annoying. But with her brother back, she would become very dangerous; much like her mother had been when Daniel had risen to power. Rhea Masters was not an easy woman to deal with, and he was not looking forward to having another on his hands; in life, she had had the capacity to strike fear into the hearts of many, including her own husband, if needed. The most disconcerting part was how the people would react. He knew that many still called him usurper and hoped that the day would come that the dynasty that had reigned over their people for so long would once again gain its strength and power. And now the Masters revival was front-page news. It didn't have to be on the bloody front-page, did it? Someone knocked on the door to his office.

"Come in." The Minister said. He looked up to see his wife in the doorway, "Crissy. What are you doing here?" She smiled tightly.

"Did you see the paper this morning?" She said and he nodded, "Alive…out of all the things you expect to read in the paper, that's not one of them. The Prophet has set up newsstands in the Atrium." Fudge's head snapped up to look at his wife.

"What do you mean 'they've set up newsstands'?" She shrugged.

"Like during the war. They're in the Atrium selling papers. People are yelling the headlines. I saw Sirius and Danilynn Black on my way through. People were stopping them to talk. The people still love their family." Fudge threw his hands up.

"Thank you, Christina! That's exactly what I need to hear right now!" He said sarcastically. She frowned at him.

"It is, you idiot. Everyone loves them and they will reclaim your place in the Ministry if you don't watch them. One of them is annoying and two is dangerous. A family, to boot, and you've got a major problem. I said everyone loves them; change that. Find something in the dark closet of the Masters family history and put it on every street corner, radio station, and newspaper." She said with a raised eyebrow and a not-amused expression.

Fudge looked at his wife with mild surprise. She was a lot of the reason that he had risen through the Ministry. He had no eye for politics. He was charming enough, when everything was scripted, and liked people, but he just didn't know when to stab someone in the back. She stood to leave and said, "And tell your whore secretary that she's fired or I want a divorce." She left without another word and her heels could be heard clicking down the hall, until she was swallowed by the hoards of people going about their daily activities.

He decided that he would make the fact he was well aware of what was happening very obvious and made his way down to the Auror Department to talk to the Blacks themselves. As the Minister walked out of his office, and towards the lift, people were staring and whispering,

"He's alive…I always hoped…I remember the days of Daniel, you were too young, you'll see now…just as great as his father and grandfather…" When he reached Level Two, the whispers were now loud conversation. The closer he moved towards the Auror Department and Law Enforcement, the louder and more radical the talk became; these were the friends of the Blacks and of Alastor Moody, they all loved Danilynn Black and her brother. No one even seemed to notice him, and no one bothered to lower their voices as he passed.

"Honestly, the Ministry hasn't been the same since Daniel…It's about damn time…Dan should have been Minister…I guess we know why she refused to take the spot, always knew her brother would return…with the Blacks and Masters united we'll have _real_ leadership again…brilliant move on her part, moving up in the Auror Department, waiting for her brother to come back…I told her Fudge was a bleeding moron, but I suppose we get the best of both worlds now; a Masters as Minister and a Masters in the Auror Department…" The feeling of invisibility set in on him for the first time since he had become Minister of Magic. He finally, mercifully, reached the door to the Auror Department.

He opened the door and most people fell silent, a radically different response than the people in the halls. Alastor Moody looked out from his office to see why everyone had fallen silent. Danilynn was talking to a few people, a smile on her face, standing beside her husband. They looked like they were made for power. Black and Masters are two very powerful families and now both the bloodlines lived. Fudge noticed that everyone had stopped talking except for the people talking to the Blacks; they didn't seem to care or notice that they were the only people speaking.

"I'll be sure to tell him, I know that they will all thank you for the warm wishes. He's very excited to be back, and my sister-in-law, niece, and nephew are just ecstatic to be in England for the first time, as well. They're very nervous about everything that's going on…Rhaegar wants to keep his kids out of the public eye for as long as possible, reasonably." The two men and woman all nodded and the two men shook her hand, she hugged the woman, and then they all shook hands with her husband. One of the men stopped before walking away.

"Dan, my brother works under Ludo Bagman, and between you and me, I might be able to get a few of the newest models of training brooms before they come on the market for the little ones. And for Harry, of course. If that boy is anything like James on a broom, start training him now and he might go pro." He said and Sirius smiled at him kindly and clapped him on the back.

"Joshua, you might just be my new best friend." He said and the man smiled and they both thanked him graciously for such a generous offer. Once the couple was alone, Fudge finally caught their eyes. It had taken too long for the Minister to get the attention and respect he deserves, he thought with a puff.

Nevertheless, Fudge raised an eyebrow at them and the Danilynn sighed with an eye roll. She said something to her husband and walked towards him. She stopped a couple feet away from him.

"Cornelius." She said with a very political cordiality.

"Danilynn." He offered to shake her hand and she stared at him like 'you've got to be joking'. He retracted his hand awkwardly and said, "I saw your brother has returned. I just came down to give my congratulations." She still looked skeptical. "I read he has a wife and two kids?" She frowned at him now.

"Rhaegar's family is none of your business, Cornelius. Do not presume to make that mistake again, because this is your only warning." She said tightly and Fudge recognized that look; he had seen her father wear it when people would question about his children and wife.

"Danilynn, you may have been born with a silver spoon in your mouth, but I am still Minister. Do not think you can speak to me like that." She raised an eyebrow.

"Really? Because I think I can. If you threw me in jail, who do you think the people would side with? You don't want a civil uprising on your hands; and don't think I don't know why you're here. You don't scare me." She hissed at him. She pulled away and a couple of men walked up to him on either side.

"Dan, would you like us to help the Minister remember where his office is?" She raised an eyebrow at Cornelius Fudge as if to say 'I told you so' and nodded briefly to them both.

The two men walked on either side of him and said nothing.

"So, have either of you ever met this great man you seem so fond of? The mighty Masters bloodline. You two are too young to remember it, yet you defend her and her brother, you risk threatening the Minster of Magic, _committing treason,_ for her. Rhaegar Masters is not the man he is talked up to be." Fudge said. One of them scowled and the other replied to him.

"If he's half the person his sister is, he'll still be twice as good as you, _Minister_. But that's what scares you, isn't it? This is probably your worst nightmare; being forcibly escorted somewhere by your own employees. You don't know your own people; this is just the start." They gestured to the lift and he got on, with nowhere else to go, he decided to take a walk in the Atrium. He doesn't know his own people? He'd show them. The lift started to move up and the faces of Parker and Simmons slipped out of sight.

He reached the Atrium within a minute. This was a part of the Ministry he hardly ever visited as most of the higher-ups simply Apparated into their offices. He remembered how strange he had thought it was that Daniel Masters always insisted on Flooing into the Atrium with everyone else. He would always stop to buy a paper and talk to people along the way; the entire process usually took over half an hour. One day Fudge had asked him why he did so and he had answered, "A Minister has to know his people before they can know him. It's a good way to show solidarity, especially in times like this. Besides, I'm no better than they are; why should I get special treatment?"

Looking at the Atrium now, Fudge was reminded about why he hated it. There were _so many_ people. It was overwhelming and made him anxious. People noticed him after a while and began to stare as he walked from one end of the great room to the other, but no one acknowledged him. He noticed, sloppily written in what he quite hoped was red paint, and not blood, above one of the fireplaces was the word _Invictus_. Fudge's blood ran cold; it was already starting. No one had been lying to him when they had said that the people wanted that family back. As he stood there, a woman with her daughter walked by and caught sight of the word that was still dripping paint onto the ground. She smiled with what the Minister could have sworn were tears.

"Invictus, indeed." The woman said. The little girl pulled on her mother's robes.

"Mommy, what does it mean?" The woman smiled at her daughter's question..

"Mary, that is the Masters family motto. Invictus means unconquered." The little girl, Mary, brightened at this connection.

"Masters? Like Dany?" Her mother nodded in confirmation, "Oh, she's so nice! Isn't she, Mommy? Mommy, isn't that the Minister?" The woman looked up and made eye contact with Fudge.

"Yes Sweetie, it is." Fudge smiled at her curtly and Mary moved towards him, curious.

"You're the Minister of Magic?" He nodded at her.

"I am, indeed. Is there anything I can help you with?" He asked her, trying to be nice, wondering if this is how the same family had kept power for so many generations. Mary shook her head.

"No, I was just asking. Yesterday I would have asked if you could help me go to school, but I don't need to do that anymore." The Minister looked at her curiously,

"And why not? Surely not so much has changed since yesterday." The girl smiled at him largely.

"It has! I met Dany Black and she told me that she would pay for me and my brother, his name is Joey, to go to school! She's really nice Minister; did you know that? Her bro—"

"Mary! Leave the Minister alone! I'm sure he has many important things to do." The girl's mother snapped at her. Mary was beckoned over by her mother, who said something to her too quiet for Fudge to hear. Mary nodded vigorously and walked back over, this time more rigid and looking rather like she was performing an unpleasant chore. Fudge was quite offended for some reason.

"Thank you for talking with me, Minister, but we really have to go." She started to walk away.

"What were you going to say?" He asked her. The young girl's eyes flickered, and he could tell she knew exactly what he was talking about.

"I forgot what I was going to say. I'm sorry, but it's time we leave." The young girl said as she took her mother's hand and they vanished into the Floo. A man appeared next to him; it was Alastor Moody.

"Try as you like, Minister, your people skills are bloody awful when they're unscripted. Good luck keeping everyone in line." Without another word, Rhaegar Masters' Godfather vanished back into the crowd of faceless people that Fudge could almost feel himself slipping into, as he seemingly instantaneously fell back into obscurity.

Silently, he walked back to the lift and made his way to his office. He stopped and told his secretaries to get him the editor of the Prophet.

"Get me the editor of the Prophet. Now. She has some answering to do." She nodded and Fudge went into his office and waited for the editor to Floo in. It took about five minutes between when he had asked for the editor to when she stepped out of the fireplace. Janie Dorian looked rather disturbed at this turn of events.

"Minister Fudge, what can The Daily Prophet and I do for you?" He looked at her critically.

"Ms. Dorian, you know I receive the paper every morning, correct?" She nodded.

"I am aware, and I thank you for your patronage. But what does this—"

"So would you like to explain what exactly this headline is doing on the front page? I don't remember approving it and last time I checked, everything that the Prophet prints has to be approved by the Minister." He snapped and she froze for a second and he got the impression that she was attempting to think very quickly on her feet.

"I…well, the dramatic effect just wasn't there with the headline you approved. It just seemed too, well, _mundane_ of a way to release that news. We didn't have time to have you reapprove it; you don't let us contact you after 7 every night. Naturally we would have asked you if you were available. No time of day is too late for the Prophet; during the war we used to stay up all night working. Of course we didn't have to have anything approved, but still we worked tirelessly to keep the public informed of the war and announcements that Minister Daniel had been making."

Fudge narrowed his eyes at her words. It was almost imperceptible, but she had made a jab at his new rule that everything must be approved. The Masters family had been adamant supporters of the Freedom of Press Act passed so long ago, no one quite remembered when exactly it happened; almost as soon as he came into office, Fudge had started trying to repeal the Act, and after long months of campaigning in the Wizengamot, he had succeeded.

"Of course, but did I make myself clear that if you wish to change something, I must approve that change? If it was too late at night, you should have waited until the next day." He said and Janie narrowed her eyes and he saw her jaw clench slightly

"Minister, I understand, but the people must be kept informed of the truth, and in this, time is of the essence. I did not follow the rule, but I am also not sorry for it." He raised his eyebrows at her.

"Excuse me?" She straightened up.

"I do not regret what I did. What I do regret is allowing myself to be controlled for so long. Minister Daniel never insisted that we be approved. As a matter of fact, he insisted that he not know the headlines until they had already been distributed. I will not stand for this manipulation any longer." She said rather loudly. There it was again: the constant comparison to Daniel Masters. Minister Daniel did this and Minister Daniel didn't do that.

The longstanding tradition of the Masters family to be addressed by their first names had always rubbed Fudge the wrong way. Before Minister Daniel there was Minister Ethan and before him was Minister Charles and there was supposed to have been a Minister Rhaegar. Fudge had been dreading working under Rhaegar Masters, someone who was younger than him by at least ten years, right up until his apparent death; he was brash and, unlike his father, didn't bother hiding the fact that he greatly disliked Fudge. The women insisted on the same familiarity. Before Lady Rhea there was Lady Catherine and before her was Lady Danilynn, who was Danilynn Black's namesake. The people had insisted on at least putting Minister or Lady in front of their first names, despite protests from the family regarding any kind of formality.

Even the children of the family were treated with respect and admiration. He remembered the young Masters children being at work with their family; and even as children that weren't school age, almost everyone would stop, smile, and say, "Miss Danilynn, Mister Rhaegar, is there anything you need?" and any given person in the Ministry would be more than happy to assist them. He had struggled to get anyone to call him anything other than just plain, old "Fudge".

"Janie Dorian, you're dismissed from the position of editor of the Daily Prophet. I want you out of that office by the end of the day." The woman, who despite being nearly 45, put her hand on her hip and rolled her eyes, seeming like a young woman dumping her boyfriend,

"Save your breath Fudge, I quit." She snapped. He raised an eyebrow at her and instead of Flooing out of his office she walked out the door with a flip of her brown, slightly grey, hair.

* * *

><p>Janie Dorian, instead of being rather put out she had just lost her job, felt incredibly liberated. She walked down the halls of the Ministry completely unemployed and completely uninhibited. Her feet took her to her destination of their own accord and before she knew it, she was opening the door to the Auror Department. A couple people looked up.<p>

"I'm looking for Danilynn and Sirius Black. Do you know where they are?" She asked two men who were walking by the door. Neither of them looked particularly friendly.

"Who's asking?" One of them asked.

"My name is Janie Dorian. I'm an old friend to the Masters family. I just quit my job at the Prophet. Well, actually Fudge tried to fire me for running the headline from this morning and I quit." They both looked at her with raised eyebrows but shrugged. One of the men called across to a woman a few cubicles down.

"Tara, you know where Black and Masters went?" She looked up.

"They're out on a job. Nothing too big. Should be back within the hour." She responded. The men both looked at her curiously.

"What did they get called out for?"

"Moody sent them all the way to freaking Ireland to deal with a couple of whackos practicing dark magic on Muggles. I think he just wanted them out of the Ministry for the rest of the day. This Department is like a damn circus today." She answered.

"Like you're surprised? This is the biggest news there's been since Harry destroyed Voldemort. I'm honestly more surprised that there _isn't _a queue lined up trying to talk to the power couple." A passing Auror said. The other three Aurors laughed in agreement and the passing Auror left as soon as someone waved him down. The two men looked at her and said,

"I'm Parker, this is Simmons. You can wait if you want; I'd say you can use my cubicle but there's one too many classified documents in there to let a reporter in, even a recently unemployed one. We can show you around, if you want." She smiled at them and shook their hands, trying to hide her nerves. She hadn't spoken to Dany Black since long before she had become Dany Black. Young Dany Masters had been probably thirteen or fourteen the last time the two had spoken. She honestly wasn't even sure that Dany would remember her.

"Sure, I'd love to see everything. Aurors have always fascinated me, honestly; but you all are a tad too secretive to talk to the press unless something colossally huge and dangerous to the public is happening." They both laughed.

"Moody's rules, not ours, sister. From what we hear, he got very secretive after Minister Daniel's death. Everyone thinks he's just trying to keep Fudge out of the loop and out of Dany's business." One of them said. She nodded. It was a wise move.

"That is a _fantastic_ idea…Fudge is getting more paranoid by the minute. He's positive that he's going to be ousted by the end of the month." She said absently. The men looked at her.

"Would that really be so horrible? I'd like to have Minister Rhaegar in office one day; sooner rather than later would be preferable." Parker said. She smiled at him.

"No, that wouldn't be horrible at all. He's a good man; he was kind of a hellion as a little kid, but who isn't? I'd like to see him become Minister." Simmons smiled at her too.

"Well this entire department shares your sentiments, so you're in good company…this is the Simulation Room. It, well true to its name, simulates fights and allows Aurors to refine their fighting skills without actually killing anyone. You can get hurt as hell, but no one has ever died in there, well not that I'm aware of…Hey, Shacklebolt, do you know if the Sim has ever killed someone?" A man, presumably Shacklebolt, paused.

"No it's never killed anyone. Aurors aren't exactly expendable capital…who is she?" He said.

"Janie Dorian, said she's a good friend of the Masters'…Fudge just fired her for her…outspoken nature about her allegiances." Parker said hastily. Shacklebolt rolled his eyes.

"How do you know she isn't lying, you idiots? Seriously, you guys are going to end up dead one day…Sorry, Miss, but you have to leave—"

"Janie? Janie Dorian?" Everyone suddenly looked up to see Dany and who she assumed was Sirius Black walking towards them. Both Dany and Sirius looked relatively unharmed, if rather dirty. Both of them were in shirts, black jeans, and combat boots. Dany had her hair up in a ponytail and a thin cut on her cheek and Sirius had bruised knuckles. Dany smiled at the other woman warmly, "I am right, aren't I? I'd recognize that face anywhere." Janie nodded and smiled at her.

"Dany…last time I saw you, you were practically still in pigtails." She said and Dany laughed and shook her hand.

"I'd hug you but I smell like Death Eater hold-outs, sweat, and blood." She joked and Shacklebolt looked at her sharply.

"There are still hold-outs?" He asked and Sirius shrugged.

"There're four less in the world than there were a couple of hours ago." Simmons and Parker both raised their eyebrows.

"You know you're going to have to report that to Moody." Shacklebolt said. They both shrugged again.

"Alastor knew what he was getting when he recruited us. Besides, it's not like they were exactly being productive members of society." Dany said and then shifted gears and said, "Now, Janie, this is my husband, Sirius Black. Sirius, this is Janie Dorian; she was a good friend of my mom's, and she was always kind enough to be the one to run stories on my family when Rae and me were kids; she usually kept it nice. I'm assuming you've already met Parker, Simmons, and Kingsley." Janie smiled at Sirius and shook his hand.

"It was a full-time job, don't let her tell you anything different. I babysat sometimes, too…Sirius Black…Dany, this isn't the same boy that used to give you fits, is it?" Dany opened her mouth to say something but Janie grinned and kept going, "Oh, never mind, it was _Rhaegar_ he used to give fits. Mainly because you had a crush as big as Dumbledore is old on him." The older woman grinned at her slyly and Dany looked mortified.

"Janie!" Parker, Simmons, and Shacklebolt started laughing uproariously as Dany's face turned red. Sirius, for his part, looked like his ego had just been inflated tremendously.

"When was this? When did little Dany Masters have a crush on me?"

"Don't you dare—" Janie ignored her protests and answered her husband.

"Oh, it must have started when she was…hmm, twelve maybe?" Dany put her hands in front of her face.

"Oh my God…can I die now?" Dany asked no one in particular.

"Dan, we didn't start dating until we were sixteen…did you have a crush on me for five years?" Sirius said with a cocky grin. Parker, Simmons, and Kingsley were laughing so hard they were almost crying. She crossed her arms across her chest and her face was still obviously flaming red.

"…Maybe. Okay, don't judge! It's not like the choice of guys was abundant in Gryffindor, so I couldn't exactly move on. James was taken, so was Frank, so was Remus, and don't even get me started on what happened with Brady." She suddenly looked like she had swallowed something sour, but it quickly passed.

"So…that's a pretty long time. You still liked me when you had a boyfriend?" Sirius laughed and Dany still looked mildly uncomfortable.

"Yeah, Brady didn't really do it for me. And besides, I only liked you a little until like Fifth Year. Then puberty finished and what can I say? We all were hormonal and then you got real hot, real fast." She said, quickly regaining her normal attitude with a shrug.

"You know I still can't believe you kissed me with my face beat to Hell and back. When I was in a hospital bed." Sirius said absently.

"Hey, _I _wasn't the one who just blurted out that I was in love out of nowhere." She retorted with a grin.

"Okay, it wasn't 'out of nowhere'. You were trying to take the blame for my near-death experience with my parents and it was just ridiculous…and then it just kind of slipped out." Sirius said, shifting from one foot to the other uncomfortably.

"It was totally my fault. You had the shit beaten out of you by your own mother and father purely because you knew me." Dany said with an eye roll and everyone got the impression that this wasn't a new conversation.

"There wasn't anything you could have done. Seriously Dan, I was already whipped and nothing anyone could have said or done. Besides, your dad thought that it was wonderful when we started dating. And Daniel was never wrong; you should know that, Daddy's Girl." Parker and Simmons exchanged a look that said that they didn't hear about their superiors' personal lives very often. They also exchanged a grin at the Daddy's Girl comment. Janie looked at the younger woman sadly.

"Dany…I never got a chance to tell you how truly sorry I was to hear about your parents. Their deaths were tragic, yet it appears that they were not in vain; both their children survive." Dany smiled sadly at her.

"Thank you, Janie. I know how close you and Mom were; it couldn't have been easy on you, either…why don't you and Sirius get to know each other? I'll go fill Moody in." She smiled with obvious effort and Sirius watched his wife walk away, simultaneously mournful and desperate. Janie knew that look; her husband had used to wear it sometimes. It was the look of a man that knew that no matter what he did, he couldn't fix her completely. He couldn't patch her up with tape or magic and that hurt him, it hurt him more than anyone could imagine. Even after all these years, he still wanted to protect her from the agony of losing Daniel and Rhea.

"You can't protect her from everything, you know." She said gently. Sirius looked at her and sighed.

"The night her parents died, I was asleep. I was sleeping at the Potters' when all of a sudden, there's someone knocking at the door, banging really, close to 4 in the morning. James and I, we tried to go back to sleep but the people downstairs were too loud. We finally went down to see who it was, and God…if you had seen her, bloody and scared, clothes ripped to Hell with a knife in her hand that was soaked to the hilt in blood; if she had run into _your_ arms crying, if she had begged you to fix her like she did that night, you would try to protect her from as much as possible, too." He said softly. There was a look about him that she had only seen a few times in her life; it was love, a pure love that could light up the whole damn room. She noticed distantly that Kingsley, Parker, and Simmons were still standing against the wall. The three of them awkwardly shuffled away, trying to leave unnoticed. Janie shook her head slightly and suspected that none of them had ever really put much thought into how exactly Dany Masters had become Dany Black.

"I can't understand, I think it's a man thing; my husband always said the same, actually." She observed and Sirius laughed slightly.

"He must be a pretty smart guy." She felt herself sadden at his words.

"He was, he really was." Sirius looked up with giant eyes.

"Oh God, I didn't know, I'm so—"

"Don't be sorry. It was a long time ago. Dany was only about fourteen at the time, it's why I stopped coming around their house; I was too sad to go anywhere near a family. Rhea and Daniel were so happy and it hurt me, it hurt because I would never have children, or see my daughter walk down the aisle to _her_ husband; because _my_ husband was killed in a raid, because my husband is dead." Sirius looked at her sadly, and Janie noticed the incredibly kind look in his eyes. For the first time since meeting him, she saw what exactly it was that Dany had seen in him when she had confessed to her that she had a crush on him.


	17. The Dogs Days Are Over

_Disclaimer__: Yeah..._

_Hey! So I'm doing a double update right now and updating this and Fire N Gold and this is a big deal for me, so be excited._

_This is just a cute little family chapter, which is really from Harry's POV, so I feel like that makes it even cuter._

_Read and Review!_

_Love, Essie_

* * *

><p>And I never wanted anything from you<br>Except everything you had and what was left after that too, oh  
>Happiness hit her like a bullet in the back<br>Struck from a great height by someone who should know better than that

The dog days are over  
>The dog days are done<p>

~_The Dog Days Are Over_, Florence + The Machine

* * *

><p>Harry woke up to someone shaking his shoulder. It was Mason. Lynn was standing at his bedroom door, obviously keeping watch for any grownups.<p>

"Mason?" He whispered and Mason nodded. "What are you doing in here? What time is it?" He asked and Mason grinned.

"It's about 6 in the morning. No one's up yet. At least I don't think so. Lynn's keeping watch, just in case." He said and Harry sat up, rubbing his eyes.

"Okay. Well what are you doing awake at 6 in the morning?" Harry asked and Mason grinned.

"You know how all of the grownups always get us up?" He asked and Harry nodded. "I want to get them up this time." He whispered and Harry had to try very hard not to laugh.

"We need payback." Lynn said from the doorway.

"Alright, how do you want to do that?" Harry whispered as he got out of bed. This sounded like it was going to be really fun.

"Well I was thinking that we could start with Aunt Dany and Uncle Sirius; they're closest to your room so in case they hear us we can just run back here." Mason said and Harry nodded.

"Yeah, and then once we wake them up, we'll run up to your parents' room and get them." He said and Lynn nodded from the doorway.

"This was my idea, you know." She said and Harry grinned. His cousins were much trickier than he was.

"It's a great idea, Lynn." He said and she smiled, glad that her idea was being used.

"Alright, let's go." Mason said and they all left Harry's room, trying to be as quiet as possible. Harry stopped outside of the double doors to the Master Bedroom. He had only been in here once, and that was when Dany had been busy talking to someone down stairs and Sirius had taken him to his room to keep him from hearing what they were talking about.

"Are you sure we're allowed in there?" He asked his cousin and Mason shook his head.

"We're probably not, but that's half the fun." He said before silently pushing the door open. "Wow, big room." He whispered and Harry and Lynn both nodded. They all slowly walked over to the bed and saw that both Sirius and Dany were asleep. Sirius was on his back and Dany was curled into his side. Harry almost felt bad for waking them up. "Start jumping on the bed" Mason mouthed to Harry and his sister and they both nodded. All three got on top of the bed and started jumping.

"Aunt Dany! Uncle Sirius! Get up!" Lynn started yelling and both adults sat up abruptly.

"What the hell?" Padfoot said loudly and Dany rubbed her eyes and looked around blearily.

"What? What time is it? Is everything okay?" She asked, looking alarmed.

"It's time to get up!" Mason shouted and Harry couldn't help but laugh. Dany rolled her eyes and suddenly Sirius grabbed Harry and dragged him over to him, sitting him on his lap. Harry squirmed around, trying to get away, but his Godfather was much too strong to escape.

"Oh no, your ours now." He said and grabbed Lynn, who started shrieking with laughter. Mason looked alarmed and before he could get away, Dany grabbed him and started tickling him.

"What did we do to deserve this?" She asked him and Mason seemed unable to answer he was laughing so hard.

"I'm—I'm sorry." He said and she stopped tickling him and laughed.

"You get us up all of the time so we wanted to get _you_ up." Harry said and Dany and Sirius both laughed.

"Was this a revenge thing? Sirius, our child is trying to get revenge on us." Dany said and Padfoot laughed.

"Oh, there's no way that this plan was hatched by Harry. This has the Masters' family trademark of waking people up in horrible ways all over it." He said and Dany laughed. Mason and Lynn looked alarmed.

"How did you know?" Mason asked and both adults laughed again.

"Because your father would wake me up every morning by dumping cold water on me. He did it for _years_." Dany said and suddenly her eyes lit up. "You haven't gotten your parents up yet, have you, you two?" She asked and Mason and Lynn shook their heads.

"No, we came here first because it was closest." Lynn said and Mason nodded. Dany got out of bed and took her wand from her bedside table.

"Well I think now would be a delightful time to repay my brother for all those years of wet clothes in freezing weather." She said and Padfoot laughed. Harry glanced at Mason and Lynn, who seemed amazed by the sudden turn of events. "Now Rae is a light sleeper so you're going to have to be _extra_ quiet. We sleep like the dead so you got away with it this time but you're going to have to be extra careful, alright?" She asked and all three kids nodded. Padfoot got out of bed and put a shirt on.

"Let's go…I've always wanted to see you get back at Rhaegar for this." Sirius said and all five of them silently walked upstairs and Dany carefully opened the door to Uncle Rae and Aunt Shay's room. All five of them walked towards the bed and Dany pressed a finger to her lips and drew her wand. Padfoot did the same thing.

"Aguamenti." They both whispered and blasted Uncle Rae in the face. He woke up, waving his hands around, looking completely confused. Aunt Shay looked like she had gotten some of the water to the face and was shocked by the rude awakening. "Danilynn! What the hell did you do to me?" He yelled and Dany started laughing.

"Run!" She yelled and all five of them ran down the halls as Rae tried to blast them back with water. He could hear Aunt Shay laughing from their room.

"You're setting a horrible example, Danilynn!" He shouted down the hall and Dany laughed and he finally got her with the water, spraying her down her back. She slipped on the hardwood floors and landed on her butt. Everyone stopped momentarily, concerned that she might be legitimately hurt, but then she started laughing and sprayed him back and everyone laughed.

"Are you going to start lecturing me like Mom would for ruining the furniture?" She laughed from her position on the floor. Uncle Rae drenched her unabashedly and she shivered a little.

"I could. Danilynn, this furniture is worth more than most people's homes and I don't think it's responsible to be ruining it in the way you are. Do _you _think that it's response—Ack!" He suddenly cut off and Sirius started laughing. He had blasted his brother-in-law directly in the face. He was now soaked too. "What was that for?" He asked Padfoot, scandalized. Padfoot smirked.

"You made my wife shiver, Masters. It's my job to exact revenge how I see fit." He said and Rhaegar rolled his eyes as Sirius pulled Dany up from where she was still sitting, apparently quite comfortable on the ground. She shivered again and he wrapped an arm around her. She clearly moved closer to him, trying to steal some of his body heat. "Look what you've done." He said, clearly amused.

"Yeah Rhaegar, look what you've done." Dany said with a grin as her shivering slowed.

"You're such a baby. Spoiled by different men your entire life. First it was Dad and now him. And we can't forget James and Charlie Potter. Or Alastor." Her brother retorted and she shrugged. Suddenly, Aunt Shay appeared out of nowhere and hosed them all down with water. All six of them protested.

"That's payback for dragging me into this whole ordeal. I wasn't even in the country when this thing started between you two with the water!" Shay exclaimed and everyone laughed.

"Yeah, we weren't even born yet." Harry said and everyone chuckled. Harry suddenly realized just how cold he was now that he was as wet as Dany and Rae were. Mason and Lynn huddled together and Dany was rubbing her hands up and down her own arms to try to stay warm.

"Now seeing that we've effectively used up and hour hosing each other down with freezing water in October, I think it's time to get ready for the day." Aunt Shay said and everyone nodded. Dany and Sirius took Harry's hands and walked him back to his room. Dany insisted that he get a bath to warm him up and he wasn't opposed to that at all. Sirius walked off, claiming that he was going to get some coffee made for everyone. Dany sat on the toilet seat as Harry took a bath. Even though he was a young nine-year-old, Dany and Sirius insisted that someone be in the room with him when he took a bath just because he hadn't exactly had years of experience with any kind of bathing more than Aunt Petunia dunking him in the tub for a few minutes, just long enough for him to not smell. Padfoot walked back in, still in his wet clothes, and handed Dany a blanket. She gratefully took it and wrapped herself up in it.

"Thanks. Are you sure you're okay soaking wet like that?" She asked and he shrugged.

"I don't mind the cold but you look bloody miserable." He said and she smiled.

"I was always a wimp about being cold. If you want to start getting ready, go ahead. You almost done, Kiddo?" She said and Harry nodded. Dany handed him a towel and he got out, draining the tub. She kissed him on the forehead and smiled. "Go ahead and get ready for lessons." She said quietly and he nodded before his Godparents walked out of the room. Harry found clothes that he thought would be warm enough and put them on. Dany had been right; the bath had warmed him up a lot. He picked up the bag he carried his homework in for Mrs. Weasley and left his room, headed for the kitchen. Aunt Shay was already downstairs and she smiled at him.

"Hello, Harry. I'm sorry that you got blasted with water this morning but I didn't have any other way to get Dany and Rae at the same time." She said and Harry laughed.

"It's okay Aunt Shay. It was really funny, honest." He said and she smiled at him.

"How about something to eat?" She asked and he nodded.

"Yes, please." He said and she rummaged around in the cupboards and put some bacon on the stove. Every time he had bacon, it reminded Harry of the day that Dany had taken him away from the Dursley's; he had been cooking bacon that morning. He thought that might be the best day of his life. She placed the plate down in front of him and he happily munched on his food for a while, soon there were sounds of people trying to get out of the house.

Aunt Shay opened a window and an owl dropped the Daily Prophet onto the table before flying back out. She unrolled it and looked at the front as soon as Dany and Sirius, who were dressed for work and were now trying to simultaneously drink coffee and put on their shoes, walked into the kitchen. Shay put the paper down and put a hand over her mouth.

"They found me. How did they find me?" She said suddenly and Dany stopped trying to put her shoes on.

"What?" She asked and Shay pointed to the paper. Dany picked it up and read the cover before handing it to Padfoot. "It was only a matter of time, Shay. Rae's been back in England for a few weeks now and he's set to be reinstated on the Wizengamot any day now; they've had enough time to track down who you are. I'm sorry that your life just became so public, but at least there's nothing cruel or derogatory in it." She said and put a hand on her sister-in-law's arm.

"Dany? What does derago—that word you just said mean?" Harry asked suddenly and Dany glanced over.

"Derogatory? When something's derogatory it's mean or disrespectful. It'll get easier, Sweetie, I promise." She said, her attention going back to Aunt Shay.

"Shay, if you ever want someone's perspective that wasn't born into this lunacy, I can help you out." Sirius said kindly and she nodded.

"That would be nice; I'd like to know how you dealt with it at first." She said and Sirius nodded before checking the time.

"We're late; we're going to have to just Apparate in today." Dany said, checking the time. "Shay, can you drop the kids off at Molly's today?" She asked and Aunt Shay nodded. "Tell her that we'll see her when we pick the kids up tonight." She added and Dany and Padfoot each kissed Harry on the cheek and then left out the front door. He heard them Apparate with a 'crack!' and then silence fell.

"Aunt Shay? What does the paper say?" He asked quietly and Shay smiled at him.

"When I came here from America, no one knew who I was. I was Rhaegar Masters' mystery wife. Someone at the Daily Prophet just found out who I am and they published a nice and long article about me." She said. "Mason and Lynn will be next, I'm sure of it. It won't be long before they're in the paper too." She said and Harry thought that she hadn't meant to say that.

"It doesn't matter what other people think. We all like you and think that you're great." Harry said simply. It was the truth; she was a nice person and was definitely the best in the house at Gobstones. She smiled.

"Thanks, Harry. You're a sweet boy, you really are." She said softly and Mason and Lynn came into the kitchen. Harry saw Aunt Shay flip the paper over discreetly. She obviously didn't want her kids knowing about that just yet. "So, whose idea was it to take it into their own hands to wake everyone in the house up?" Shay asked the room at large. No one said anything. "I see it was a mass conspiracy. Well I'll be sure to keep that in mind." She said. "Alright, I'm taking you lot to lessons today; Dany and Sirius had to leave pretty quick." She said and they all followed her out onto the porch. They all took her hands and she Apparated them to the Burrow. Harry was proud to say that he had gotten the hang of landing on his feet after Apparation. She walked them up to the door and knocked. Aunt Molly opened the door and smiled.

"Shay, how are you? I saw the paper, those people are just dreadful—" Aunt Shay pointedly looked at the kids and Aunt Molly stopped talking. "Yes, well are you ready for lessons, kids?" They all nodded, not very excited at all. They all stepped into the Burrow.

"Dan and Sirius are getting the kids tonight, so you know." Shay said and Mrs. Weasley whispered something. All three of them strained to hear.

"I know it's not my place but they should know."

"I just haven't talked to Rae about it; I don't know how to tell them that both of their parents are under nationwide scrutiny. What if the papers find them, Molly? How do I handle that?" Harry heard Shay whisper back and he quickly looked at Mason and Lynn. Neither of them looked happy but they also didn't look shocked.

"Daddy told us that might happen." Lynn said sadly. Mason nodded.

"I hope Mom isn't too upset. I wonder what they said." Mason commented and Harry couldn't help but telling them what Dany had said this morning.

"I heard your mom talking to Dany about it this morning; Dany said that it's wasn't mean." He said and they both seemed reassured at that.

"That's good…oh, I didn't do my math. Please tell me that you did yours, Harry." Mason said and Harry nodded.

"Here, copy it quick." He said and Mason started to frantically write down a duplicate of Harry's answers. He couldn't ask his sister for the answers because Ginny and Lynn were a year behind them. Molly took that opportunity to walk in.

"You two better not be cheating on your homework." She scolded and both boys exchanged guilty looks.

"Well it appears that you're more like your parents than I thought." She said, amused. She didn't even scold them.


End file.
